JC virus in cerebrospinal fluid samples of multiple sclerosis patients at the first demyelinating event

• Published in: Multiple sclerosis 2007-06, Vol.13 (5), p.590-595
• Main Authors: Alvarez-Lafuente, Roberto, García-Montojo, Marta, De Las Heras, Virginia, Bartolomé, Manuel, Arroyo, Rafael
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Degenerative and inherited degenerative diseases of the nervous system. Leukodystrophies. Prion diseases; Demyelinating Diseases - cerebrospinal fluid; Demyelinating Diseases - virology; DNA, Viral - cerebrospinal fluid; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; JC virus; JC Virus - genetics; JC Virus - metabolism; Male; Medical sciences; Multiple Sclerosis - cerebrospinal fluid; Multiple Sclerosis - virology; Multiple sclerosis and variants. Guillain barré syndrome and other inflammatory polyneuropathies. Leukoencephalitis; Neurology; Polyomavirus Infections - cerebrospinal fluid; Polyomavirus Infections - complications; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; Tumor Virus Infections - cerebrospinal fluid; Tumor Virus Infections - complications; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the nervous system; Viral Load
• ISSN: 1352-4585; 1477-0970
• DOI: 10.1177/1352458506073116

Objective To evaluate the possible involvement of JC virus (JCV) in the aetiology of multiple sclerosis (MS), through the comparison of DNA prevalences and viral loads of JCV in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of MS patients at the first demyelinating event and subjects suffering from other neurological diseases (OND). Methods Seventy-three CSF samples (43 from MS patients at the first demyelinating event, and 30 from patients with OND) were collected; all MS cases were followed up from 1 to 6.7 years after they were diagnosed with clinically definite MS. DNA was extracted and analysed by real-time PCR for the detection of JCV genomes. Results We found JCV DNA in the CSF of two MS patients (4.7%) with a mean viral load of 2.1 and 6.7 copies/mL of CSF. Among the patients of the OND group we did not find any positive sample. We did not find any difference in the course of the disease between MS patients with and without JCV genomes in their CSF along the follow up. Conclusion JCV seems to be only a bystander in the pathology of MS, and the presence of cell-free viral particles could be related to the immunological activation of the disease, mainly during relapses. Multiple Sclerosis 2007; 13: 590-595. http://msj.sagepub.com