Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2013, Article ID 683464, 7 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/683464 Clinical Study Molecular Characterization of BK and JC Viruses Circulating among Potential Kidney Donors in Kuwait Wassim Chehadeh, 1 Susan Silpi Kurien, 1 and Mangalathillam Raman Nampoory 2 1 Virology Unit, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, P.O. Box 24923, Safat, Jabriya 13310, Kuwait 2 Department of Nephrology, Hamed Al-Essa Organ Transplantation Center, Ibn Sina Hospital, P.O. Box 25427, Safat, Shuwaikh 13115, Kuwait Correspondence should be addressed to Wassim Chehadeh; wchehadeh@hsc.edu.kw Received 5 April 2013; Revised 26 May 2013; Accepted 31 May 2013 Academic Editor: Stephan Koblm¨ uller Copyright © 2013 Wassim Chehadeh et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. BK and JC polyomaviruses can be associated with nephropathy following renal transplantation. he aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, load, and genotypes of BK and JC viruses circulated in potential kidney donors in Kuwait. he detection of polyomavirus DNA was carried out in serum and urine samples of 165 potential kidney donors. Seventy (42%) individuals were tested positive for polyomavirus DNA, of whom 20 (12%) had detectable polyomavirus DNA in their serum samples, 40 (24%) in their urine samples, and 10 (6%) in both serum and urine samples. In the group of polyomavirus-positive patients, JC DNA could be detected in 78% of urine samples and 11% of serum samples, whereas BK DNA could be detected in 7% of urine samples and 3% of serum samples. he median polyomaviral load was low. he detected BK sequences in Kuwaiti adults formed new clusters sharing common ancestor with subgroups Ib1 and IVc, which are prevalent in Asia and Europe. Additionally, around half of the detected JCV sequences in Kuwaiti adults formed new clusters within the African subtype 3. Our results suggest high rate of polyomavirus shedding among healthy adults in Kuwait that can jeopardize their suitability for kidney donation. 1. Introduction Polyomaviruses share the capacity of reactivation from latency in their host under immunosuppression. he initial manifestation of BK virus (BKV) reactivation following renal transplantation is asymptomatic viruria. his is followed by viremia and overt nephropathy, which may culminate in grat loss [1–3]. While viruria is generally considered to be insigniicant, viremia and nephropathy trigger reduction in immunosuppression and antiviral therapy [4–6]. In addition to BKV, JC virus (JCV) has also been shown to be involved in the development of nephropathy [7, 8]. JCV establishes latency in the kidney and B lymphocytes, and it is associated with the development of progressive multifocal leukoen- cephalopathy (PML) in immunocompromised individuals, usually those with acquired immune deiciency syndrome (AIDS) [9]. he nucleotide sequences of BK and JC viruses show 75% homology [10]. Genetic mutations and rearrangement are most extensively described in the noncoding control region (NCCR) of BKV [11]. here are also reports of increased mutations of the viral capsid protein 1 (VP1) gene in patients with BK nephropathy [12–15]. Based on the VP1 gene sequence, BKV was classiied into 4 major subtypes [16]. BKV subtype I is widespread in the world, subtype IV is mainly distributed in east Asia and Europe, whereas subtypes II and III are rarely detected worldwide. BKV subtype I sequences were further classiied into four subgroups: Ia, Ib1, Ib2, and Ic. Subgroup Ib2 is most prevalent in Europeans and West Asians, Ia in Africans, Ic in Northeast Asians, and Ib1 in Southeast Asians. BKV subtypes IV evolved into six subgroups, IVa1, IVa2, IVb1, IVb2, IVc1, and IVc2, with each having a close relationship with a particular human population [17]. here are currently eight major genotypes of JCV, which correspond to three main areas of the world— Europe, Asia, and Africa; genotypes 1 and 4 are found in Europe, genotypes 2 and 7 are in Asia, genotypes 3 and 6 are in Africa, genotype 5 is a recombinant type between types