Prevalence of JC polyomavirus genomic sequences from the large t‐antigen and non‐coding control regions among bulgarian patients with primary brain tumors

Abstract

A total of 111 fresh brain biopsies from patients with primary brain tumors were examined for JC polyomavirus sequences from the Large T antigen encoding region (LT) and the viral non-coding control region (NCCR). SYBR Green and TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction assays were used. In the glioblastoma group of 39 patients 48.7% were positive for LT sequences. Among the astrocytoma group (19 patients) and the oligodendroglioma group (12 patients) 31.6% and 33.3% were also positive. The prevalence of LT genomic sequences among the other groups was as follows: in 2 out of 3 oligoastrocytomas; in 3 out 5 gangliogliomas; in 2 out of 5 meduloblastomas; in 1 out 3 pineocytomas; and in none of the tested 5 ependimomas. All positive samples had a late threshold cycle that varied from 36 to 49, indicative of very low starting viral number. Only 21 of all the 111 samples were positive for NCCR. Low copy number in range of 10-1,000 was present. Notably, only 8 of all NCCR positive specimens were also LT positive. It might be suggested that the disproportion between the results for LT and NCCR is either due to clonally integrated LT fragments, with loss of genetic material, or changes in the NCCR. The latter would alter the productive course of the infection and may establish a premise for continuous interaction of viral regulatory proteins with cell molecules that are responsible for the control of the cell cycle. This may lead subsequently to malignant transformation.

Detection of Merkel cell polyomavirus large T-antigen sequences in human central nervous system tumors

“…Several recent reports have indicated possible associations between CNS tumors and human polyomaviruses, JC polyomavirus (JCPyV), and BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) and their genomic sequences have been identified in CNS cancer tissue [Flaegstad et al, ; Delbue et al, ; Tsekov et al, ; Sadeghi et al, ]; but the members of this family that discovered more recently have yet to be investigated in association with human CNS tumors. In 2008, the fifth human polyomavirus, designated Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV), was isolated from 80% of Merkel cell carcinomas, a neuroendocrine cancer of the skin [Feng et al, ].…”

Molecular detection and characterization of BK and JC polyomaviruses in urine samples of renal transplant patients in Southern Brazil

“…In immunocompetent healthy subjects, JCPyV is rarely associated with disease [Kitamura et al, 1990;Egli et al, 2009;Boothpur and Brennan, 2010]. However, JCPyV has been associated with neoplasia in immunosuppressed subjects [Tsekov et al, 2011;Van Aalderen et al, 2012] and it may cause, mainly in AIDS patients, progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy [Kazory and Ducloux, 2003]. Its association with nephropathy is not clear [Drachenberg et al, 2007].…”