Levels of 2',5'-oligoadenylates (2-5A) in various tissues of murine encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV)infected mice were determined and compared with those found in pathogen-free mice and in mice treated with the interferon inducer poly(I) * poly(C). In control, pathogen-free mice, liver, spleen, brain, and kidney tissues possessed levels of 2-5A below 1 pmol/g of tissue, demonstrating that 2-5A was not a major component of uninfected mouse tissue. All control tissues had low basal levels (0.3 to 2.0 pmol/h per g) of 2-5A synthetase, the enzyme responsible for 2-5A production. After mice were injected intravenously with the interferon inducer poly(I) * poly(C), circulating interferon, 2-5A synthetase, and 2-5A were elevated with increasing doses of double-stranded RNA. The greatest response to poly(I) poly(C) occurred in the kidney, in which enyme levels increased 5-fold and 2-5A levels increased 24-fold to 15 pmol/g. Mice that were infected with EMCV also * Corresponding author. MATERIALS AND METHODS Reagents. Poly(I) poly(C), pppA2'pA2'pA, and A2'pA2'pA were purchased from Pharmacia, Inc., Piscat-1586 Vol. 61, No. 5 on September 17, 2020 by guest http://jvi.asm.org/ Downloaded from 2',5'-OLIGOADENYLATES IN EMCV-INFECTED MICE 1587 away, N.J. C18 and silica Sep-paks and C18 ,uBondapak columns were obtained from Waters Associates, Inc., Milford, Mass. Microtiter plates (Immunolon I) were purchased from Dynatech Laboratories, Inc., Alexandria, Va. Biotinylated goat anti-rabbit immunoglobulin G, biotinylated rabbit anti-mouse immunoglobulin G, and streptavidin horseradish peroxidase were obtained from Bethesda Research Laboratories, Inc., Gaithersburg, Md. Radioactive pppA2'pA2'pA2'pA3'[32P]pCp was generously provided by