12. Polyomavirus Flashcards
what family are polyomaviruses in?
polyomaviridae
why are polyomaviruses called polyomaviruses?
poly = multiple tumours
what is an example of polyomavirus?
Simian virus 40 (SV40)
3 characteristics of polyomavirus capsid
- non-enveloped
- 40-45nm
- icosahedral
describe the genome of polyomavirus
5 kbp circular dsDNA wrapped in histones
what baltimore class are polyomavirus?
Baltimore Class I
how are early and late transcripts of polyomaviruses encoded
early and late transcripts encoded on opposite DNA strand
how many viral proteins are there?
5-9
what are 3 types of hosts for polyomaviruses?
- mammals
- birds
- fish
describe SV40 contamination
SV40 was found to contaminate the poliovirus vaccine due to the monkey cells used to make the vaccine
how does SV40 affect monkeys, rodents, and humans?
MONKEYS - replicates without causing disease
RODENTS - causes cancer in laboratory conditions
HUMANS - no evidence for causing cancer
what happens when SV40 infects permissive cells?
virus goes thru full life cycle –> leads to lysis
what happens when SV40 infects non-permissive cells?
results in transformation/integration of DNA –> cancer
how do the early events differ when the virus infects non-permissive cells?
the early events of virus infection occur normally, until T antigens are expressed and trigger S-phase entry
what does integration of the viral genome cause?
leads to transformation of some cells –> only some bc integration is a rare event
which 2 proteins are generally needed for transformation?
LTAg and STAg
what were the first 2 polyomaviruses identified?
JC and BK
describe JC and BK infections (3 stages)
- primary infection in childhood (minor illness)
- latent infection thru life (no disease)
- reactivation with immunosuppression
what percent of people are persistently infected with JC/BK?
80-90%
What happens when the virus reactivates with immunosuppression?
causes lytic replication (massive replication) and serious disease –> often with mutations in genome that favours replication
what kind of people is BK virus common in?
common in kidney transplant patients
what can lytic viral replication of BK lead to? (3)
- kidney injury
- polyomavirus-associated nephropathy (PVAN)
- allograft loss
what are 2 early symptoms of PVAN?
VIRURIA –> virus in urine
VIREMIA –> virus in blood
what can BK virus cause in bone marrow transplant patients?
haemorrhagic cystitis
what is the treatment for PVAN?
no antiviral drug –> reduce immunosuppression
what are the decoy cells we see in urine of BK patient?
virally infected epithelial cells with intranuclear viral inclusion bodies that resemble cancer cells
what disease does JC virus cause?
progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)
what 2 types of people is PML found in?
- AIDS patients
- MS patients treated with natalizumab (anti-integrin mAb)
describe the 4 steps of PML
- JC virus infects B cells
- JC virus reaches the brain and replicates in oligodendrocytes
- Oligodendrocytes lyse and become unable to myelinate neurons
- JC non-coding regulatory region is rearranged to allow viral replication in the brain (brain tropism)