Hepatitis C virus: buoyant density of the factor VIII-derived isolate in sucrose

Physicochemical and molecular characterization studies of hepatitis C virus (HCV), the major causative agent of parenterally transmitted non-A, non-B hepatitis (PT-NANBH), strongly suggest that it is a pesti-/flavivirus-like virus. Additional studies show that the buoyant density of plasma-derived HCV in sucrose is significantly lower than that of most tissue culture-derived flaviviruses (1.20 g/cm3). Our finding suggests, but does not prove, that at least one physicochemical property of HCV is more similar to that of the pestiviruses, bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and hog cholera virus (HogCV), than that of the flaviviruses.