Rapid detection and identification of JC virus and BK virus in human urine by using immunofluorescence microscopy

Abstract

An indirect immunofluorescence method was developed and used to detect urinary excretion of abnormal transitional cells infected with JC virus (JCV) or BK virus (BKV). This method was compared with urinary cytology, electron microscopy, viral culture, and viral serology in groups of immunosuppressed renal transplant recipients and normal controls. The indirect immunofluorescence method detected and identified JCV excretion in four persons, BKV excretion in one person, and both JCV and BKV excretion in eight others. Viral antigen was identified only in the nuclei of cytologically abnormal cells. Of these 13 persons, 8 also had polyoma virions detected in the urine by electron microscopy. With repeated study of sequential urine samples, 30% of transplant recipients and 6% of normal controls were positive by one or more microscopy methods. Serological results confirmed a high incidence of both JCV and BKV multiplication in the immunosuppressed patients. However, serology did not correlate directly with urinary virological findings. Urinary cytology and the indirect immunofluorescence method were rapid and sensitive methods for detecting and identifying urinary excretion of JCV and BKV.

Immunohistochemical Detection of JC Virus in Nontumorous Renal Tissue of a Patient with Renal Cancer but without Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy

“…Although the renal infection with JCV is not associated with clinically apparent tissue damage, PML is a devastating central nervous system disease that mostly occurs in immunocompromised patients (5,18,22). JCV has been detected in urine and renal tissue not only of PML and immunocompromised patients but also those of the immunocompetent general population (6,8,10,12,13,14). Although there have been many reports of studies of JCV in urine and kidney tissue by DNA hybridization and/or PCR (6,4,7), histological examinations of the JCV replication site in the kidney are scarce.…”

“…JCV replication may affect the cellular adhesion to the basement membrane and/or to the adjacent cells, or JCV replication may be facilitated in the exfoliating cells. The cells loaded with high viral contents may exfoliate into the lumen and may serve as a source of the urinary JCV (7,12,24). Although most of the IEM-positive electron-dense material was of a particular or a granular nature, the virus-like nature of the particles was clear only in some limited areas.…”

Analysis of JC virus DNA purified directly from human progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy brains

“…Subsequently, JCV has been identified by virus isolation or by immunofluorescence within the central nervous system of over 40 patients with PML, strongly implicating it as the etiological agent of this rare disease (26,27). JCV has also been recognized in the urine of normal pregnant women (3,4) as well as the urine of some renal allograft recipients (10,13,14). Reported isolates of JCV have so far been limited to cases of PML (30).…”

BK virus infection of the human urinary tract

“…Tissue tropism of polyo-maviruses has been shown to be related to viral promoter-enhancer activity [Kenney et al, 19841. A specific protein binding to the BKV enhancer region appears to be present in human urothelial cells [Chakraborty and Das, 19911. By indirect immunofluorescence using a monospecific rabbit antiserum Hogan et al [1980] identified BKV in exfoliated cells in the urine. In the present study, we applied a newly generated monoclonal antibody.…”