Viral variant nucleotide sequences help expose leukocytic positioning in the JC virus pathway to the CNS

Abstract

The human polyomavirus JCV lytically infects oligodendrocytes of immunosuppressed individuals leading to the fatal demyelinating disease termed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Dementia, hemiparesis, and hemianopsia are the predominant presenting signs of PML. Asymptomatic JCV infection is common worldwide with approximately 80% of adults testing positive for JCV antibodies. In addition to the brain, JCV has been shown to infect tonsil, lymphoid, bone marrow, and kidney tissues. Viral variants, classified according to the nucleotide sequences of their regulatory regions, are being mapped in human tissues and cell types to help trace the pathway of JCV from a site of initial infection to target oligodendrocytes. In most literature, a dichotomy of the JCV regulatory region structure exists by tissue. B lymphocytes, however, have demonstrated the capacity to harbor JCV of diverse regulatory regions, which helps position their interaction with virus amid every stage of infection and implicates a lymphocytic role in latency.