Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 14, 2026
Bone Marrow Transplantation Platform to Investigate the Role of Dendritic Cells in Graft-versus-Host Disease
Published on: March 17, 2020
Polyclonal gammopathy after BKV infection in HSCT recipient: a novel trigger for plasma cells replication?
Natalia Maximova1, Antonio Pizzol2, Aurelio Sonzogni3
1Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Institute for Maternal and Child Health IRCCS Burlo Garofolo, Via dell'Istria 65/1, 34134, Trieste, Italy. natalia.maximova@burlo.trieste.it.
Background:
BK polyomavirus infects most of the general population. However, its clinical manifestations are almost exclusively seen in immunocompromised patients, particularly in kidney and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation recipients.
Case Presentation:
A 15-y-old female suffering from common B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The patient had reactivation of BKPyV infection and developed an haemorrhagic cystitis. Three months after transplant, BKPyV viremia and viruria increased and she developed a severe nephropathy associated to a polyclonal gammopathy with high levels of isolated IgM.
Conclusion:
This case report describes a rare and unexpected polyclonal gammopathy developed during a polyomavirus-associated nephropathy confirmed by immunohistochemical and laboratory analyses.
