New commercially available PCR and microplate hybridization assay for detection and differentiation of human polyomaviruses JC and BK in cerebrospinal fluid, serum, and urine samples.

JC and BK human polyomaviruses (family Polyomaviridae) may cause severe neurological or urinary tract pathologies in immunocompromised hosts. In the present study, we evaluated a new commercially available PCR and microplate colorimetric hybridization assay for the standardized differential detection of JC virus (JCV) and BK virus (BKV) genomes in clinical samples. This JC/BK Consensus test was first evaluated by testing serial dilutions of JCV or BKV plasmid DNA standards and was then compared with an in-house reference PCR assay for the detection of JC and BK virus genomes in 70 cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples of patients with neurological disorders and in 75 serum or plasma samples and 125 urine samples of renal graft recipients. This new test allowed a limit of detection of 10 copies and 1 copy of JC and BK virus genomes, respectively, and was able to differentiate various levels of JCV, BKV, and mixed JCV and BKV DNA genomes in a single reaction tube. Our results showed 100% specificity and sensitivity for the JC/BK Consensus test with CSF samples. With serum or plasma samples, this test had a sensitivity and a specificity of 100% for both JCV and mixed JCV and BKV DNA detection and a sensitivity and a specificity of 100 and 97.8% for BKV DNA detection, respectively. With urine samples, the sensitivity and specificity were 100 and 96.6%, respectively, for JCV DNA detection; 100 and 89.4%, respectively, for BKV DNA detection; and 44.4 and 100%, respectively, for mixed JCV and BKV DNA detection. In conclusion, our data indicate that this new test, the JC/BK Consensus test, is valuable for the sensitive and specific differential detection of single JCV and BKV infections in CSF, serum or plasma, and urine samples. The use of this reliable PCR assay would improve the routine virological diagnosis as well as the clinical care of immunocompromised patients with polyomavirus-related pathologies.