inosine

noun

ino·​sine ˈi-nə-ˌsēn  ˈī- 

-sən

: a nucleoside C₁₀H₁₂N₄O₅ that is composed of hypoxanthine and ribose, that in the form of its monophosphate is a biosynthetic precursor of both AMP and its guanosine analog, and that binds to adenine, cytosine, or uracil especially in some transfer RNAs compare poly i entry c

Examples of inosine in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As Bass and a colleague discovered in the late 1980s, cells often replace one building block in their mRNA molecules, adenosine, with another molecule known as inosine. —Bymitch Leslie, science.org, 24 Oct. 2024

By replacing the adenosine with inosine, ADARs can essentially correct the mistake, because the cell’s proteinmaking machinery reads the inosine in the mRNA as a guanosine. —Bymitch Leslie, science.org, 24 Oct. 2024

These proteins bind to RNAs and alter their sequence by changing a familiar base known as adenosine into a molecule called inosine. —Sara Reardon, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2020

Although not one of the canonical RNA bases, inosine is read by the cell’s protein-translation machinery as the familiar guanosine. —Sara Reardon, Scientific American, 5 Feb. 2020

Word History

Etymology

International Scientific Vocabulary inosinic acid (the acid C₁₀H₁₃N₄O₈P; inosinic, from Greek in-, is sinew + International Scientific Vocabulary -ose entry 2 + -in entry 1 + -ic entry 1) + -ine entry 2

First Known Use

1911, in the meaning defined above

Medical Definition

inosine

noun

ino·​sine ˈin-ə-ˌsēn  ˈī-nə- 

-sən

: a crystalline nucleoside C₁₀H₁₂N₄O₅ that is composed of hypoxanthine and ribose, that in the form of its monophosphate is a biosynthetic precursor of both AMP and its guanosine analog, and that binds to adenine, cytosine, or uracil especially in some transfer RNAs