%0 Journal Article
%A Schweitzer, Finja
%A Ladwig, Anne
%A Opala, Sarah
%A Laurent, Sarah
%A Schroeter, Michael
%A Goelz, Susan
%A Fink, Gereon R.
%A Wieland, Ulrike
%A Silling, Steffi
%A Warnke, Clemens
%T Absence of JC polyomavirus in stool samples of patients with multiple sclerosis despite high anti-JCV antibodies in serum
%J Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders
%V 87
%@ 2211-0348
%C Amsterdam [u.a.]
%I Elsevier
%M FZJ-2024-03591
%P 105664 -
%D 2024
%X Background: Natalizumab is an effective treatment for relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS). During therapy, individualsare at increased risk of developing progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). So far, therelevant reservoir for PML-type JC polyomavirus (JCV) remains elusive. We here tested if the detection of JCVDNAin stool of persons with MS treated with natalizumab could be a future tool for PML risk assessment.Methods: The presence of JCV-DNA in stool, urine, and whole blood of MS patients treated with natalizumab andknown serum anti-JCV antibodies index values (IV) was studied. Different DNA extraction methods, real-time(RT) and droplet digital (dd) PCR techniques were compared. JCV isolates were screened for PML-associatedvariants by sequencing.Results: Thirty MS patients treated with natalizumab were screened. For 21 patients, blood, stool, and urinesamples were available. These patients were stratified according to their serum anti-JCV antibody IV (high (>1.5,n = 12); medium (1.5–0.9, n = 2); low (<0.9, n = 1); negative (n = 6)). JCV-DNA could not be detected in thewhole blood or stool samples. Four urine samples had measurable JCV-DNA, ranging from 1.71×104–1.07×108international units (IU)/mL detected by RT-PCR, corresponding to 4.62×104–9.85×106 copies/mL measured byddPCR. All JCV variants were wild-type and derived from patients with high antibody IV.Conclusion: Stool-specific DNA extraction methods provided the highest quality of DNA, while the sensitivity ofddPCR and RT- PCR was comparable. Our findings do not support assessing stool samples for PML risk stratificationin persons with MS. Further studies are needed to explore where PML-associated viral variants arise.
%F PUB:(DE-HGF)16
%9 Journal Article
%$ 38735204
%U <Go to ISI:>//WOS:001243115500001
%R 10.1016/j.msard.2024.105664
%U https://juser.fz-juelich.de/record/1027025