The human polyomavirus JC virus (JCV) 2 is the causative agent of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML), a fatal demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. JCV infection usually occurs during childhood, but remains subclinical. However, opportunistic reactivation of JCV results in the development of PML in individuals with a compromised immune system, such as those with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) or advanced-stage malignant tumors, or those recently having undergone organ transplantation with immunosuppressive therapy (1). There is currently no effective or specific therapy for PML, even though the incidence of this condition is increasing with the growing number of individuals with AIDS.JCV is a small virus with a double-stranded DNA genome that encodes early proteins (large T antigen, small t antigen, and TЈ antigen) and late proteins (VP1, VP2, VP3, and agnoprotein) (2). The entry of JCV into the nucleus of an infected cell is followed by transcription of the early genes and the production of large T antigen (TAg). The replication of JCV DNA progresses in association with the accumulation of TAg, which subsequently stimulates transcription of late genes and represses that of the early genes (3). JCV TAg shares 72% amino acid sequence identity with TAg of simian virus 40 (SV40), another primate polyomavirus, and, like SV40 TAg, it is necessary for replication of the viral genome as a result of its DNA binding and helicase activities. The replication of polyomaviruses also requires DNA replication proteins of the host cell, such as DNA polymerase ␣, topoisomerases, and replication protein A (RPA) (4, 5), with such host cell factors being thought to serve as determinants of host specificity (6).The utilization of such cellular proteins requires that polyomaviruses replicate in a phase of the cell cycle in which they are available. Polyomavirus TAg thus modulates cellular signaling pathways to induce quiescent cells to enter S phase, in which cellular DNA is replicated (7). A key event in this process is the interaction of TAg with members of the retinoblastoma protein family, which results in inactivation of retinoblastoma protein and in consequent progression of the cell cycle (8). Moreover, polyomaviruses are thought to take advantage of the DNA damage response to enhance viral replication. SV40 lytic infection thus triggers the DNA damage checkpoint, resulting in a bypass of mitosis and additional replication of cellular and viral DNA (9), and murine polyomavirus-infected cells accumulate in S and G 2 phases (10). Replication of viral DNA in cells *