Characterization of BK viruses in serum and urine from kidney transplant recipients with polyomavirus nephropathy

BK polyomavirus (BKV) frequently causes nephropathy in kidney transplant recipients (KTRs), where it has also been implicated in the etiology of bladder and kidney cancers. In this study, we characterized BKV variants from two KTRs who developed BKVN followed by renal carcinoma by using a pipeline consisting of virion purification from patient-derived serum and urine samples, enrichment for viral DNA by rolling circle amplification (RCA), and next-generation sequencing. This approach provided un unbiased snapshot of BKV variants during the development of nephropathy.BK多瘤病毒(BK polyomavirus, BKV)常导致肾移植受者(kidney transplant recipients, KTRs)发生肾病，同时该病毒还与膀胱及肾脏恶性肿瘤的病因学密切相关。本研究针对两名先后罹患BKVN并随后发展为肾癌的肾移植受者体内的BK多瘤病毒变异株开展了系统表征。研究采用的实验流程涵盖：从患者来源的血清与尿液样本中纯化病毒粒子，通过滚环扩增(rolling circle amplification, RCA)富集病毒DNA，以及实施下一代测序。该方法可为肾病发生进程中BK多瘤病毒变异株提供无偏的全景快照。