Problems with particle-associated DNA polymerase assays in the diagnosis of plasma-suspended viruses.

The in vitro reaction results of virus-associated DNA polymerases for the demonstration of plasma-suspended particles of avian leukemia virus (AMV) and of hepatitis type B virus (HBV) were compared. AMV particles could be identified by the transcription of the templates poly mC(dG)12-18, poly rAT10, and poly d(AT) using standardized reaction mixtures. With comparable test conditions, no DNA polymerase activity was found in human plasma containing HBV. These findings and the results of a systematic study of factors influencing the polymerization assays are discussed.