Occurrence, genotypic characterization, and patterns of shedding of human polyomavirus JCPyV and BKPyV in urine samples of healthy individuals in São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence, genotypic characterization, and determination of the patterns of shedding of human polyomavirus JC (JCPyV) and BK (BKPyV) in consecutive urine samples collected from healthy adults. Urine samples collected monthly over a 6 month period were screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with two sets of primers complementary to the VP1 protein region specific for the JCPyV or BKPyV genome. The viral load of JCPyV and BKPyV in positive samples was determined by quantitative real time PCR. Seventy-one healthy individuals (ages between 18 and 65) were included in the study. Polyomavirus DNA urinary shedding was identified in 44 (62%) of the 71 individuals evaluated: BKPyV only in 16 (22.5%); JCPyV only in 19 (26.7%); and both in 9 (12.7%). Among the 28 individuals shedding JCPyV, the shedding was nearly continuous in 13 (46.4%) and sporadic in 15 (53.6%), whereas all BKPyV shedding was sporadic. A total of 45 (19 BKPyV and 26 JCPyV) strains were identified. Of the BKPyV strains, individuals were observed that excreted all genotypes except genotype 3 and the JCPyV strains, excretion of 5 different genotypes. Evaluating the age of individuals who excrete JCPyV and BKPyV, mostly are young adults, with a slight increase with increasing age and observing the viral load can not draw any parallel between the increase or decrease of age or excreted genotype as there was a wide variation both in the excretion of BKPyV and JCPyV. The high occurrence of isolated or simultaneous urinary shedding of JCPyV and BKPyV in healthy individuals merits further study.

BK and JC virus infections in healthy patients compared to kidney transplant recipients in Tunisia

“…Although, the infection rate of BKPyV and JCPyV in healthy individuals did not achieve the statistical significance difference (P ¼ 0.09); JCPyV was more frequent than BKPyV in urine (13% vs. 6%). This is in agreement with other results, suggesting that when present in the urine of immunocompetent individuals, JCPyV is typically more abundant than BKPyV [11,17,25,28,29,32]. The absence of BKPyV and JCPyV co infection in this group can be related to the inhibitory interaction between the two viruses as it was reported previously [8].…”

“…This confirms previous studies showing an increase of JCPyV shedding in older individuals above the age of 30 years [1,26]. No correlation between age and JCPyV urinary load was found in accordance with recent reports [11,32].…”

“…Furthermore, JCPyV was excreted with significantly higher urinary loads than BKPyV among healthy persons. This may be explained by the less efficiency of the humoral and/or cellular immunity at controlling JCPyV replication as it was suggested by previous reports [11,15,17,29,32]. However, no gender or sex difference was found between BKPyV detection and viral load; in accordance to other studies [4,11,28,32,35].…”

Polyomavirus detection in multiple sclerosis patients under natalizumab therapy: Profile and frequency of urinary shedding

“…In this work, the overall proportion of MS patients who shed JCV (21.7% considering at least one time‐point) was similar to that observed for healthy individuals, which is around 18.9–27% [Markowitz et al, ; Egli et al, ; McClure et al, ; Urbano et al, ]. Our data were also similar to immunocompromised groups, such as renal and liver recipients [Drachenberg et al, ; Kusne et al, ] and HIV‐infected population, which range from 25% to 28% [Markowitz et al, ; Behzad‐Behbahani et al, ].…”

Human-Associated Bacteroides spp. and Human Polyomaviruses as Microbial Source Tracking Markers in Hawaii

“…We did not detect HPyV in any of the tested human fecal samples, likely because these viruses are predominantly shed in urine (50,51). While absent from fecal samples, HPyV were detected in all wastewater samples tested.…”