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.