DETECTION OF JC VIRUS-DNA IN THE PERIPHERAL-BLOOD LEUKOCYTES OF HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS

Objectives: To assess whether JC virus (JCV) DNA is frequently harbour ed by peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL) in HIV-positive patients, befo re the onset of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). Desi gn: The polyomavirus JCV induces PML in immunocompromised persons and particularly AIDS patients. Leukocytes may play a central part in the onset of PML, but their precise role in JCV latency and reactivation s till remains hypothetical. The controversial presence of JCV DNA in PB L has been, until now, investigated only among small groups of patient s. We therefore studied 157 HIV-positive persons and compared them wit h 65 HIV-negative immunocompromised patients. Methods: DNA was extract ed from PBL. The presence of!CV DNA was demonstrated by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) alone or combined with a molecular hybridization assay. Results: The presence of JCV DNA was ascertained by PCR and hy bridization in 28.9% of 135 HIV-infected persons at all stages of HIV infection and only 16.4% of 61 HIV-negative immunocompromised patients . No correlation could be drawn between the detection of JCV DNA and t he clinical or biological status of the HIV-positive patients. Conclus ions: JCV DNA is detectable in the PBL of 28.9% of HIV-infected person s, even in the early stages of infection. JCV is more seldomly amplifi ed in HIV-negative immunocompromised patients. Further work is in prog ress to determine the prognostic value of the presence of JCV DNA in t he blood of HIV-positive patients.