Should SVGp12 Be Used for JC Polyomavirus Studies? Comment on Prezioso et al. COS-7 and SVGp12 Cellular Models to Study JCPyV Replication and MicroRNA Expression after Infection with Archetypal and Rearranged-NCCR Viral Strains. Viruses 2022, 14, 2070.

A recent paper in Viruses investigates the impact of the JC polyomavirus (JCPyV) microRNA on the replication of different JCPyV strains. Unfortunately, one of the cell lines used, the human fetal glial cell line SVGp12, is productively infected by the closely related BK polyomavirus (BKPyV), which may confound results. Scientists need to take this into account and the potential pitfalls.