Clonal immortalized human glial cell lines support varying levels of JC virus infection due to differences in cellular gene expression.

JC virus (JCV) is a ubiquitous human polyomavirus that causes the demyelinating disease Progressive Multifocal Leukoencephalopathy (PML). JCV replicates in limited cell types in culture, predominantly in human glial cells. Following introduction of a replication defective SV40 mutant that expressed large T protein into a heterogeneous culture of human fetal brain cells, multiple phenotypes became immortalized (SVG cells). A subset of SVG cells could support JCV replication. In the current study, clonal cell lines were selected from the original SVG cell culture. The 5F4 clone showed low levels of viral growth. The 10B1 clone was highly permissive for JCV DNA replication and gene expression and supported persistent and stable JCV infection over months in culture. Microarray analysis revealed that viral infection did not significantly change gene expression in these cells. More resistant 5F4 cells expressed high levels of transcription factors known to inhibit JCV transcription. Interestingly, 5F4 cells expressed high levels of RNA of markers of radial glia and 10B1 cells had high expression of markers of immature glial cells and activation of transcription regulators important for stem/progenitor cell self-renewal. These SVG-derived clonal cell lines provide a biologically relevant model to investigate cell type differences in JCV host range and pathogenesis, as well as neural development. Several transcription regulators were identified which may be targets for therapeutic modulation of expression to abrogate JCV replication in PML patients. Additionally, these clonal cell lines can provide a consistent culture platform for testing therapies against JCV infection of the central nervous system.