Demonstration of JC virus by immunofluorescence in multiple cell types in experimentally infected adult human brain cell cultures

JC virus (JCV)-induced T antigen developed in the nuclei of approximately 50% of adult human brain (AHB) cells infected with JCV. Approximately 10% of these T antigen-positive cells contained glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and were identified as astrocytes in immunofluorescence studies. About 50% of these T antigen-positive cells bound antiserum to fibronectin on their surface and were identified as fibroblasts. No cells binding antiserum to galactocerebroside (GC), an oligodendrocyte-specific marker, were detected in infected or non-infected AHB cultures. The cell type of AHB that constitutes the remaining 40–50% of T antigen-positive cells that are GFAP-, fibronectin- and GC-negative remains to be determined.