Molecular Epidemiology and Variation of the BK Polyomavirus in the Population of Central and Eastern Europe Based on the Example of Poland

Abstract

The BK polyomavirus (BKPyV) is a widespread pathogen in humans. Polymorphism of the region encoding the VP1 protein of BKPyV provides the basis for classifying the virus into types and subtypes, whose frequency varies depending on geographic location. The aim of our study was to determine the frequency of BKPyV in the Polish population and to assess its variation by analysing polymorphism in the typing region. The study was conducted on 168 healthy, Polish volunteers, whose blood (plasma) and urine were sampled. The virus was detected using PCR, products, sequenced and subjected to bioinformatic analysis. In addition, viral load was assessed by qPCR. The presence of the genetic material of the BK virus was noted in 61/168 urine samples but in none of the plasma sample. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis confirmed that the BKPyV isolates were of types I and IV, dominant in Europe (63.93% and 36.07%, respectively). All isolates from genotype I belonged to subtype Ib-2, showing polymorphism at position 1809 with a frequency of 61.54% (G1809A) and 38.46% (G1809C). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study of this magnitude on the genetic variation of BKPyV among healthy volunteers in Poland.

Genotypes and Variants of BKPyV in Organ Donors after Brain Death

“…The results are in accordance with previous publications [ 14 ] and indicate a high prevalence of BKPyV in the Polish population. In our study, the genetic material of the virus was detected in 48% of donors’ urine samples, including 47% of female and 48% of male (49/103, 16/34 and 33/69, respectively— Table 1 ).…”

“…According to literature data and our expectations, the prevalence of BKPyV infections detected in the group of DBDs should increase with age, which in the present study was confirmed in the case of genotype I and variant Ib-2_POL_K, but not in the case of genotype IV. Identification of Ib-2_POL_F showed a fairly stable low presence in all age groups, as reported in our previous work [ 14 ].…”

“…BKPyV infection prevalence was the highest in the age group 40–59, both in male and female (63% and 64%; and 10/16 and 21/33, respectively) and notably lower (16%; 8/49) in younger age groups (18–29 years). As referred in previous research [ 14 ], the variant designated as Ib-2_POL_K (G1809A) was more prevalent in older age groups, whereas the prevalence of Ib-2_POL_F (G1809C) was more evenly distributed among all DBD age groups. In our sample, genotype IV cases (49%; 24/49), exceeded the cases of genotype I infections (43%; 21/49).…”

“…These co-infections were not included in the detailed analysis at the genotype, subtype, and variant level, but their presence was taken into account in analysing the entire BKPyV-positive subgroup. Based on polymorphism analyses in the sequence encoding the VP1 protein, BKPyV with genotype I were assigned to subtype Ib-2, within which two variants were distinguished, previously described by Furmaga et al and submitted to GenBank Database [ 14 ] as Ib-2_POL_K (G1809A) and Ib-2_POL_F (G1809C). The distribution of variants showed that Ib-2_POL_K was present in more than 62% of carriers of genotype I, while Ib-2_POL_F was present in 38% of them (13/21 and 8/21, respectively).…”

Polysaccharides and Their Derivatives as Potential Antiviral Molecules

“…Viruses are considered not only one of the most abundant biological entities on Earth [3] but also one of the major causes of mortality, and, at the same time, they are the driver of genetic diversity on our planet [4]. These parasites can be found everywhere in our surroundings (including in water and soil) and can infect all life forms [5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”