Ferrante P, Omodeo-Zorini E, Caldarelli-Stefano R, Mediati M, Fainardi E, Granieri E, Caputo D
Laboratory of Biology, Don C. Gnocchi Foundation, IRCCS (Research Hospital), Milan, Italy.
Mult Scler. 1998 Apr;4(2):49-54. doi: 10.1177/135245859800400202.
JC virus (JCV), the causative agent of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), has been proposed as a possible aetiopathogenic factor in multiple sclerosis (MS). We performed a study to search the LT region of JCV genome by nested PCR in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) and urine samples collected from 121 MS patients, 24 patients with other neurological disorders (OND), 30 non neurological patients (NND) and in PBMCs and urine of 40 healthy subjects. JCV DNA has been found in the CSF of 11 MS patients (9%) while all the CSFs from the 24 OND and the 30 NND cases were negative. No significant differences have been observed as regard to the frequency of JCV DNA detection in PBMCs and urine between the MS patients and the control groups. Nucleotide sequences analysis of seven JCV CSF isolates showed that five strains were identical the prototypal strain, while the other two had a base mutation (T-->C) in 4286 nucleotide (nt). The finding of JCV DNA in the CSF of MS patients suggest that JCV could play a role in the triggering and/or in the maintenance of MS aetiopathogenic process, and therefore it should be taken in consideration when monitoring this disease.
JC病毒（JCV）是进行性多灶性白质脑病（PML）的病原体，已被提出可能是多发性硬化症（MS）的病因致病因素。我们进行了一项研究，通过巢式聚合酶链反应（PCR）在121例MS患者、24例其他神经系统疾病（OND）患者、30例非神经系统疾病（NND）患者采集的脑脊液（CSF）、外周血单核细胞（PBMC）和尿液样本以及40名健康受试者的PBMC和尿液中搜索JCV基因组的LT区域。在11例MS患者的脑脊液中发现了JCV DNA（9%），而24例OND患者和30例NND患者的所有脑脊液均为阴性。在MS患者和对照组之间，PBMC和尿液中JCV DNA检测频率未观察到显著差异。对7株JCV脑脊液分离株的核苷酸序列分析表明，5株与原型株相同，而另外2株在4286核苷酸（nt）处有一个碱基突变（T→C）。MS患者脑脊液中JCV DNA的发现表明，JCV可能在MS病因致病过程的触发和/或维持中起作用，因此在监测这种疾病时应予以考虑。
