Glial replication and proliferation support JC virus demyelination
In HIV infected patients, JC virus (JCV) can cause a devastating demyelinating disease of the CNS known as progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).
JCV replicates in human glial progenitor cells and astrocytes, which undergo viral T-antigen-triggered mitosis, enabling viral replication.
The authors were able to demonstrate that dividing human astrocytes supported JCV propagation to a substantially greater degree than did mitotically quiescent cells.
They also show that JCV infection greatly accentuated by cuprizone-induced demyelination and its associated mobilization of glial progenitor cells and triggered the death of both uninfected and infected glia, reflecting significant bystander death.
