title: Extraordinarily low density of hepatitis C virus estimated by sucrose density gradient centrifugation and the polymerase chain reaction.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Japanese Red Cross Blood Center, Saitama.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyamoto
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okamoto
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mishiro
mesh_terms: D001483:Base Sequence; D001782:Blood Donors; D002213:Capsid / Q000737:chemistry; D002499:Centrifugation, Density Gradient; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000737:chemistry*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000097:blood; D014771:Virion / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012367:RNA, Viral