Introduction to My Project

If you were to ask a random person what they thought is the most transplanted organ the answer would most likely be heart, liver, or lung. An organ that is often overlooked in terms of both importance and necessity is the kidney. These bean shaped organs are responsible for filtering and regulating the otherwise toxic cocktail of chemicals that swirl around in our bloodstream. Without them it would be impossible to live more than a week (and it definitely wouldn’t be a nice week). Unfortunately, the kidneys are also as delicate as they are important and thus are easily harmed by the effects of poor diet, obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure, all of which have been on the rise in recent years. Consequently, the need for kidneys is more than double that of the next most needed organ (the liver) with 90,000 (2015 statistics) people on the national waiting list. It is important, therefore, to make sure that the relatively few people who can get a kidney transplant keep it functioning well for as long as possible. It is here where the BK Virus, the topic of my research makes its appearance.


A member of the polyomavirus family, the BK virus is found latent in anywhere from 80 to 90% of the population (persisting throughout the host’s entire life). Though most people remain relatively asymptomatic, this changes once they are put on a regimen of immunosuppressants. Immunosuppressants are necessary for nearly all transplant patients to ensure that the body’s natural immune response does not contribute to the destruction of the graft. The lack of antigen control allows the virus to proliferate within the graft and about 30 to 60% of those diagnosed will lose their kidney 1 year after the initial diagnosis.


In my research I will look at the incidence of BK Viremia over the past 30 years, but more than that I hope to identify a problem. With the many advances in virus and bacteria control that have occurred in the past decades such as stronger antibiotics and immunosuppressants, it's possible that we may, counterintuitively, see a rise in the number of viral infections such as these. Though we may have become more proficient in stopping our own body from attacking the transplanted organs, we may have also inadvertently opened the door for viruses that thrive in that immune response free environment to attack the very thing we’ve been trying to protect.


Throughout my internship I hope to explore this phenomenon while at the same time keeping you guys informed on both my findings and the incredible structure that is the kidney and the delicate balance within which it lives.