Abstract
The polyomavirus family currently includes thirteen human polyomavirus (HPyV) species. In immunocompromised and elderly persons HPyVs are known to cause disease, such as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (JCPyV), haemorrhagic cystitis and nephropathy (BKPyV), Merkel cell carcinoma (MCPyV), and trichodysplasia spinulosa (TSPyV). Some recently discovered polyomaviruses are of still unknown prevalence and pathogenic potential. Because HPyVs infections persist and might be transferred by blood components to immunocompromised patients, we studied the seroprevalence of fourteen polyomaviruses in adult Dutch blood donors. For most polyomaviruses the observed seroprevalence was high (60–100%), sometimes slightly increasing or decreasing with age. Seroreactivity increased with age for JCPyV, HPyV6 and HPyV7 and decreased for BKPyV and TSPyV. The most recently identified polyomaviruses HPyV12, NJPyV and LIPyV showed low overall seroprevalence (~5%) and low seroreactivity, questioning their human tropism. Altogether, HPyV infections are common in Dutch blood donors, with an average of nine polyomaviruses per subject.
Highlights
The Polyomaviridae family comprises non-enveloped double-stranded DNA viruses that infect a broad spectrum of hosts
In 1050 Dutch blood donors, the seroprevalence of each polyomavirus was determined by calculating the proportion of serum samples with seroreactivity above the established median fluorescence intensity (MFI) cut-off
When the seroprevalences were analysed in relation to age, a significant positive association was observed for Karolinska Institute polyomavirus (KIPyV) (χ2 test for trend: P
Summary
The Polyomaviridae family comprises non-enveloped double-stranded DNA viruses that infect a broad spectrum of hosts. Usually in childhood, polyomaviruses cause asymptomatic persistent infection accompanied by low-level replication and shedding, for instance in urine [1,2]. Since 2007 the number of identified human polyomaviruses (HPyVs) has greatly increased. They are currently grouped in thirteen species, including the ‘classic’ BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) and JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) [2,3]. A novel polyomavirus called the Lyon IARC polyomavirus (LIPyV) that was identified in 2017 has not been assigned to a polyomavirus species yet [4]. Polyomaviruses do not cause disease in healthy hosts; they can reactivate and cause disease in individuals who are immunocompromised
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