Activity of JC virus archetype and PML-type regulatory regions in glial cells

Sequence variations are seen in the JC virus promoter/enhancer in virus taken from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) brains and it has been hypothesized that the variations arise in the host at some point in the development of PML. These rearrangements may be adaptations for enhanced growth in glial cells; if so, transcription or replication levels should differ between archetypal and rearranged PML-type promoters. The archetype and four PML-type promoters were analysed in human glial cells for early and late transcriptional activity in the absenceor presenceof virus T antigen