Open AccessHuman Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Cells Express the Serotonin Receptor and Are Susceptible to JC Virus Infection
Author(s) -
Chris S. Schaumburg,
Bethany A. O’Hara,
Thomas E. Lane,
Walter J. Atwood
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
journal of virology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.617
H-Index - 292
eISSN - 1070-6321
pISSN - 0022-538X
DOI - 10.1128/jvi.00406-08
Subject(s) - biology , embryonic stem cell , progenitor cell , neural stem cell , oligodendrocyte , stem cell , microbiology and biotechnology , virology , virus , receptor , progenitor , neuroscience , genetics , central nervous system , gene , myelin
We studied the susceptibility of human embryonic stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells to infection with JC virus, the causative agent of progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML). A human embryonic stem cell line, H7, was used to derive an enriched population of cells expressing the oligodendrocyte progenitor cell-specific marker NG2. These cells expressed the 5HT2a receptor (5HT2a R) for JC virus and were highly susceptible to infection. Infection was reduced by treatment with anti-5HT2a R antibodies and by the 5HT2a R antagonists ritanserin and ketanserin. This is the first demonstration that human embryonic stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells are susceptible to JC virus infection and indicates that cells poised to replenish mature oligodendrocytes in PML lesions may also be a target of viral infection.