Journal of neuroimmune pharmacology : the official journal of the Society on NeuroImmune Pharmacology
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J Neuroimmune Pharmacol · Dec 2013
Observational StudyAnti-JCV antibodies detection and JCV DNA levels in PBMC, serum and urine in a cohort of Spanish Multiple Sclerosis patients treated with natalizumab.
One of the most effective multiple sclerosis (MS) treatment is natalizumab. Nevertheless, it has been associated with an increased risk of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) caused by the JC virus (JCV). Our main objective was to assess the utility of testing JCV-DNA, apart from anti-JCV antibodies, to determine which natalizumab-treated MS patients has been previously in contact with the virus. ⋯ Nearly all patients with detectable JCV-DNA levels in PBMC excreted the virus intermittently in urine; while our PML case, positive in PBMC and serum samples 2 month before the PML, excreted JCV permanently. In conclusion, the determination of JCV DNA levels in urine could be complementary to anti-JCV antibodies for identifying MS patients who has been infected by the JCV. Further research would be necessary to understand the different JCV excretion profiles in urine.