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Demonstration and partial characterization of an intermediate HBcAg (dane particle) population
Author(s) -
Hess Georg,
Arnold Wolfgang,
Buschenfelde KarlHermann Meyer Zum
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
journal of medical virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 121
eISSN - 1096-9071
pISSN - 0146-6615
DOI - 10.1002/jmv.1890070309
Subject(s) - hbcag , virology , characterization (materials science) , population , medicine , virus , materials science , nanotechnology , environmental health , hepatitis b virus , hbsag
Hepatitis‐B core antigen (HBcAg) was released from Dane particles previously separated from anti‐HBc by repeated pelleting through sucrose gradients separated into three HBcAg populations when analysed by cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation. Heavy HBcAg particles banded at a density of 1.355 gm/ml, intermediate HBcAg particles at a density of 1.33 gm/ml, and light HBcAg particles at a density of 1.30 gm/ml. Like heavy HBcAg particles, intermediate HBcAg particles contained DNA polymerase activity, but the ratio of HBcAg to DNA polymerase activity was significantly different in both populations. Intermediate HBcAg particles could not be separated from heavy HBcAg particles by rate sedimentation centrifugation. The size of the HBV‐DNA and the size of its single‐stranded gaps were not significantly different in heavy and and intermediate HBcAg populations. Data accumulated in this paper suggest that the intermediate HBcAg particle differs from the heavy HBcAg particle by the amount of HBcAg polypeptides and the number of HBcAg determinants exhibited.