Extraordinarily low density of hepatitis C virus estimated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and the polymerase chain reaction

• Published in: Journal of general virology 1992-03, Vol.73 (3), p.715-718
• Main Authors: Miyamoto, Hideaki, Okamoto, Hiroaki, Sato, Koei, Tanaka, Takeshi, Mishiro, Shunji
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Base Sequence; Biological and medical sciences; Blood Donors; Capsid - chemistry; Centrifugation, Density Gradient; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hepacivirus - chemistry; hepatitis C virus; Microbiology; Molecular Sequence Data; Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Viral - blood; Techniques used in virology; Virion - chemistry; Virology
• ISSN: 0022-1317; 1465-2099
• DOI: 10.1099/0022-1317-73-3-715

1 Japanese Red Cross Blood Center, Saitama 388, 2 Immunology Division, Jichi Medical School, Tochigi 329-04 and 3 Institute of Immunology, Koraku 1-1-10, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112, Japan The genomic RNA of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in the plasma of volunteer blood donors was detected by using the polymerase chain reaction in a fraction of density 1·08 g/ml from sucrose density gradient equilibrium centrifugation. When the fraction was treated with the detergent NP40 and recentrifuged in sucrose, the HCV RNA banded at 1·25 g/ml. Assuming that NP40 removed a lipid-rich surface coat from HCV, the 1·08 g/ml and 1·25 g/ml HCV RNA may correspond to intact HCV virions and nucleocapsids, respectively. The extraordinarily low density of the virion is unusual in comparison to the density of classified viruses. Received 13 August 1991; accepted 19 November 1991.