Detection of JC virus DNA in peripheral blood cell subpopulations of HIV-1-infected individuals

Abstract

While it has been suggested that JC virus (JCV) migrates in B-lymphocytes from the kidney to the central nervous system where it initiates demyelination, this phase of JCV pathogenesis has not been systematically explored. To determine the peripheral blood cell subpopulation(s) infected with JCV, monocytes, granulocytes, and T and B lymphocytes from HIV-1-infected individuals and uninfected controls were puri®ed by¯ow cytometry. JCV DNA could be detected by PCR ampli®cation in all of these cell subpopulations. This ®nding suggests that JCV lacks speci®city in its interaction with leukocytes.

Association of Prolonged Survival in HLA-A2+ Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy Patients with a CTL Response Specific for a Commonly Recognized JC Virus Epitope

“…JCV is rarely found in the peripheral blood of normal persons (19,(21)(22)(23). JC viremia occurs in the setting of immunosuppression, and JCV DNA has been detected in the blood of HIV ϩ patients with or without PML who have CD4 ϩ cell counts below 200/l (19, 21, 24 -26).…”

“…JC viremia, however, is usually not detectable in immunocompetent individuals (19,21,22). The mechanisms that contain JCV replication in normal individuals are not well understood.…”

JC Virus Regulatory Region Tandem Repeats in Plasma and Central Nervous System Isolates Correlate with Poor Clinical Outcome in Patients with Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy

“…The JCV DNA load in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) is very low, between 10 and 90 copies of JCV/g of PBMC DNA (16), and becomes detectable only after PCR amplification and the application of hybridization techniques. JCV has also been detected in cellfree plasma (7,16,17). A recent report has demonstrated that JCV sticks to the surfaces of blood cells rather than productively infecting them (30).…”

Immune responses to JC virus in patients with multiple sclerosis treated with natalizumab: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study

“…13 Thus, when JC virus is detected in the blood, it is more often in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) than than as cell-free virus in the plasma. 12,14,15 To determine whether natalizumab acts only on JC virus or whether its effects would be less specific, we assessed the cellular Finally, to determine whether the findings obtained in the natalizumab-treated cohort would be specific to natalizumab, we assessed all the parameters described above in a control cohort of multiple sclerosis patients treated with interferon beta.…”