Delbue Serena, Branchetti Emanuela, Boldorini Renzo, Vago Luca, Zerbi Pietro, Veggiani Claudia, Tremolada Sara, Ferrante Pasquale
Department of Biomedical Sciences and Technologies, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
J Med Virol. 2008 Dec;80(12):2147-52. doi: 10.1002/jmv.21313.
JC virus (JCV) is a polyomavirus that asymptomatically infects up to 80% of the worldwide human population and establishes latency in the kidney. In the case of host immunodeficiency, it can cause progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), which is a fatal demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. In an attempt to understand better PML pathogenesis and JCV infection, the presence of the JCV genome and expression of the early viral protein in the brain of deceased individuals, with and without HIV infection, was investigated. Sixty autopsy samples of brain tissues were collected from 15 HIV-positive PML patients, 15 HIV-positive patients with other neurological diseases, 15 HIV-positive patients without neurological disorders, and 15 HIV-negative individuals who died from diseases unrelated to the central nervous system. By means of specific Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction, the JCV genome was detected in 14 of 15 PML brains, three of 15 HIV-positive brains (with and without neurological diseases), and 1 of 15 HIV-negative brains. JCV genotyping was also performed. Expression of the early JCV protein T Antigen was verified by a specific immunohistochemistry assay, and it was found in the brain tissues from 12 PML cases and one case with other neurological disease. The data obtained demonstrate that infection of the brain with JCV can also be observed in the brains of HIV-negative individuals, without neurological disorders. However, viral protein expression was limited to PML brains and to one brain from a patient with other neurological disease, suggesting that JCV can also be present in the brains of patients without PML.
JC病毒（JCV）是一种多瘤病毒，全球多达80%的人群会被其无症状感染，并在肾脏中建立潜伏感染。在宿主免疫缺陷的情况下，它可引发进行性多灶性白质脑病（PML），这是一种致命的中枢神经系统脱髓鞘疾病。为了更好地理解PML的发病机制和JCV感染情况，研究了已故个体（包括有和没有HIV感染的个体）大脑中JCV基因组的存在情况以及早期病毒蛋白的表达。从15例HIV阳性的PML患者、15例患有其他神经系统疾病的HIV阳性患者、15例无神经系统疾病的HIV阳性患者以及15例死于与中枢神经系统无关疾病的HIV阴性个体中收集了60份脑组织尸检样本。通过特异性实时聚合酶链反应，在15例PML大脑中的14例、15例HIV阳性大脑（有和没有神经系统疾病）中的3例以及15例HIV阴性大脑中的1例中检测到了JCV基因组。还进行了JCV基因分型。通过特异性免疫组织化学检测验证了早期JCV蛋白T抗原的表达，在12例PML病例和1例患有其他神经系统疾病的病例的脑组织中发现了该抗原。所获得的数据表明，在无神经系统疾病的HIV阴性个体的大脑中也可观察到JCV感染大脑的情况。然而，病毒蛋白表达仅限于PML大脑以及1例患有其他神经系统疾病患者的大脑，这表明JCV也可能存在于无PML的患者大脑中。
