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Genotyping of the noncoding control region of BK virus in patients with haemorrhagic cystitis after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 35, pages 531–532 (2005)Cite this article

Polyoma BK virus (BKV) is a ubiquitous virus first identified in a renal allograft recipient B.K. More than 90% of adults are BKV seropositive, indicating past exposure. After primary infection, the virus remains dormant in the urinary tract. During immunosuppression, the virus may become reactivated. The link between BKV and haemorrhagic cystitis (HC) was initially made by the identification of papovavirus-like particles in the urine of patients with HC.1 Later, with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and DNA hybridization, an increased incidence of polyoma BK viruria was reported in patients undergoing haematopoietic stem cells transplantation (HSCT) who developed severe HC.2 The association between BKV and HC was further substantiated in later studies that demonstrated more frequent presence of viral DNA in patients with HC.3

The BKV genome comprises three regions, the noncoding control region (NCCR) containing the origin of replication, the promoter and enhancer regions; the early structural region encoding the early protein (large and small T-antigens); and the late structural region encoding the agnoprotein and the viral capsid proteins (VP1-3). BKV exhibits genetic variation over the NCCR and can be classified into archetype and rearranged forms.4 Archetype BKV is characterized by a linear NCCR without tandem repeats, whereas the rearranged form exhibits variable numbers of duplication and deletion in the NCCR. The rearranged form is thought to arise from archetype BKV after primary infection.5 Both forms have been demonstrated in human urine and circulating leucocytes,6 but the relative significance of each remains obscure.

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  1. Department of Medicine, Division of Haematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    A Y H Leung, M Chan & Y L Kwong

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  1. A Y H Leung
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  2. M Chan
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  3. Y L Kwong
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Leung, A., Chan, M. & Kwong, Y. Genotyping of the noncoding control region of BK virus in patients with haemorrhagic cystitis after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Bone Marrow Transplant 35, 531–532 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1704823

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