Prevalence of JC Polyomavirus in Patients with Neuroinvasive Disease of Unknown Etiology in Croatia
<i>Background and Objectives</i>: John Cunningham polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a highly prevalent virus in the human population. The prevalence of JCPyV in patients with central nervous system disorders has not been examined extensively. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of...
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MDPI AG
2023-12-01
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| Series: | Medicina |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/60/1/69 |
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| author | Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek Maja Bogdanic Tajana Peric Leona Radmanic Ljiljana Antolasic Ljiljana Milasincic Snjezana Zidovec-Lepej |
| author_facet | Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek Maja Bogdanic Tajana Peric Leona Radmanic Ljiljana Antolasic Ljiljana Milasincic Snjezana Zidovec-Lepej |
| author_sort | Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background and Objectives</i>: John Cunningham polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a highly prevalent virus in the human population. The prevalence of JCPyV in patients with central nervous system disorders has not been examined extensively. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of JCPyV DNA/antibodies in patients with neuroinvasive diseases (NID) of unknown etiology. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: The study included 132 patients with NID (febrile headache, meningitis, encephalitis) tested from January 2021 to December 2022. The control group consisted of 47 asymptomatic individuals. In patients with NID, serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected in the acute phase of the disease. CSF samples were tested for JCPyV DNA (PCR), while serum samples were tested for JCPyV IgG antibodies (ELISA). In controls, serum samples were tested for JCPyV IgG antibodies (ELISA). <i>Results</i>: JCPyV DNA was not detected in any of the CSF samples from patients with NID. JCPyV IgG antibodies were detected in 88.6% of patients and 74.5% of controls (<i>p</i> < 0.001). In the patients’ group, a significant difference in the IgG prevalence was observed between males (94.6%) and females (81.0%). In addition, significant differences in the seropositivity between age groups were found. The lowest seroprevalence (28.6%) was in patients less than 20 years, followed by a sharp increase in the 20–29-year group (69.2%), after which the seroprevalence remained stable (90.0–94.1%) in patients up to 69 years. All patients older than 70 years were JCPyV IgG-seropositive. No significant difference in the seroprevalence was found in patients presenting with febrile headache (81.6%), meningitis (93.3%), or meningoencephalitis (91.3%). No difference in the seropositivity between genders was found in controls. Although the seropositivity steadily increased in older participants, these differences were not significant. Analyzing the JCPyV antibody levels in patients with NID, the median antibody titers differed significantly between groups, ranging from 248 AU/mL (younger age groups) to 400 AU/mL (older age groups). <i>Conclusions</i>: Higher seroprevalence in the patients’ group highlights the need to further investigate the possible association of JCPyV and NID. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:41:51Z |
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| issn | 1010-660X 1648-9144 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T10:41:51Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-f7b8a18668334f5fb7024cced7a362ed2024-01-26T17:35:12ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442023-12-016016910.3390/medicina60010069Prevalence of JC Polyomavirus in Patients with Neuroinvasive Disease of Unknown Etiology in CroatiaTatjana Vilibic-Cavlek0Maja Bogdanic1Tajana Peric2Leona Radmanic3Ljiljana Antolasic4Ljiljana Milasincic5Snjezana Zidovec-Lepej6Department of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Virology, Croatian Institute of Public Health, 10000 Zagreb, CroatiaDepartment of Immunological and Molecular Diagnostics, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia<i>Background and Objectives</i>: John Cunningham polyomavirus (JCPyV) is a highly prevalent virus in the human population. The prevalence of JCPyV in patients with central nervous system disorders has not been examined extensively. The aim of this study was to analyze the prevalence of JCPyV DNA/antibodies in patients with neuroinvasive diseases (NID) of unknown etiology. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: The study included 132 patients with NID (febrile headache, meningitis, encephalitis) tested from January 2021 to December 2022. The control group consisted of 47 asymptomatic individuals. In patients with NID, serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected in the acute phase of the disease. CSF samples were tested for JCPyV DNA (PCR), while serum samples were tested for JCPyV IgG antibodies (ELISA). In controls, serum samples were tested for JCPyV IgG antibodies (ELISA). <i>Results</i>: JCPyV DNA was not detected in any of the CSF samples from patients with NID. JCPyV IgG antibodies were detected in 88.6% of patients and 74.5% of controls (<i>p</i> < 0.001). In the patients’ group, a significant difference in the IgG prevalence was observed between males (94.6%) and females (81.0%). In addition, significant differences in the seropositivity between age groups were found. The lowest seroprevalence (28.6%) was in patients less than 20 years, followed by a sharp increase in the 20–29-year group (69.2%), after which the seroprevalence remained stable (90.0–94.1%) in patients up to 69 years. All patients older than 70 years were JCPyV IgG-seropositive. No significant difference in the seroprevalence was found in patients presenting with febrile headache (81.6%), meningitis (93.3%), or meningoencephalitis (91.3%). No difference in the seropositivity between genders was found in controls. Although the seropositivity steadily increased in older participants, these differences were not significant. Analyzing the JCPyV antibody levels in patients with NID, the median antibody titers differed significantly between groups, ranging from 248 AU/mL (younger age groups) to 400 AU/mL (older age groups). <i>Conclusions</i>: Higher seroprevalence in the patients’ group highlights the need to further investigate the possible association of JCPyV and NID.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/60/1/69JC polyomavirusneuroinvasive diseaseJCPyV DNAJCPyV IgG antibodiesCroatia |
| spellingShingle | Tatjana Vilibic-Cavlek Maja Bogdanic Tajana Peric Leona Radmanic Ljiljana Antolasic Ljiljana Milasincic Snjezana Zidovec-Lepej Prevalence of JC Polyomavirus in Patients with Neuroinvasive Disease of Unknown Etiology in Croatia Medicina JC polyomavirus neuroinvasive disease JCPyV DNA JCPyV IgG antibodies Croatia |
| title | Prevalence of JC Polyomavirus in Patients with Neuroinvasive Disease of Unknown Etiology in Croatia |
| title_full | Prevalence of JC Polyomavirus in Patients with Neuroinvasive Disease of Unknown Etiology in Croatia |
| title_fullStr | Prevalence of JC Polyomavirus in Patients with Neuroinvasive Disease of Unknown Etiology in Croatia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Prevalence of JC Polyomavirus in Patients with Neuroinvasive Disease of Unknown Etiology in Croatia |
| title_short | Prevalence of JC Polyomavirus in Patients with Neuroinvasive Disease of Unknown Etiology in Croatia |
| title_sort | prevalence of jc polyomavirus in patients with neuroinvasive disease of unknown etiology in croatia |
| topic | JC polyomavirus neuroinvasive disease JCPyV DNA JCPyV IgG antibodies Croatia |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/60/1/69 |
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