Biochemical Characterization of the Reverse Transcriptase of a Human Intracisternal A-Type Particle (HIAP)

The discovery of a novel human intracisternal A-type particle (HIAP) that may be associated with the autoimmune disease Sjŏgren's syndrome has been previously reported. Although the HIAP retrovirus has been shown to be antigenically related to HIV-1, the viruses were distinguishable by different hydrodynamic mobilities through a sucrose gradient by morphology and intracellular location, and by differing divalent cation requirements for their in vitro reverse transcriptase (RT) reactions. In this report, additional biochemical characteristics are provide that further differentiate the HIAP RT from HIV-1 RT. Data are also presented that distinguish the HIAP RT from the known cellular DNA polymerases.