Infection and Pathogenesis
The initial site of infection may be the tonsils, or possibly the gastrointestinal tract. The virus then remains latent in the gastrointestinal tract and can also infect the tubular epithelial cells in the kidneys, where it continues to reproduce, shedding virus particles in the urine.
JCV can cross the blood–brain barrier into the central nervous system, where it infects oligodendrocytes and astrocytes, possibly through the 5-HT2A serotonin receptor. JC viral DNA can be detected in both non-PML affected and PML-affected (see below) brain tissue.
Immunodeficiency or immunosuppression allows JCV to reactivate. In the brain it causes the usually fatal progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy, or PML, by destroying oligodendrocytes. Whether this represents the reactivation of JCV within the CNS or seeding of newly reactivated JCV via blood or lymphatics is unknown. Several studies since 2000 have suggested that the virus is also linked to colorectal cancer, as JCV has been found in malignant colon tumors, but these findings are still controversial.
Read more about this topic: JC Virus
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