CHARACTERIZATION OF VIRUS‐LIKE PARTICLES FROM A PSORIATIC PATIENT WITH RESPECT TO THE POSSIBLE PRESENCE OF PARTICLE‐ASSOCIATED RNA AND RNA‐DIRECTED DNA POLYMERASE

Abstract

Subcellular particles resembling retroviruses with respect to their morphology, density and protein composition, and which were present in the urine of a psoriatic patient were analyzed for the presence of high-MW polyadenylated RNA and RNA-directed DNA polymerase activity. Neither RNA-directed DNA polymerase activity nor high-MW polyadenylated RNA was detected in preparations containing the purified virus-like particles. This was the case even when the amount of particles analyzed exceeded by a factor of .gtoreq. 50 the amount of avian myeloblastosis virus in which polymerase activity and RNA were detected.