Cytomegalovirus infects human lymphocytes and monocytes: virus expression is restricted to immediate-early gene products.

AUTOR(ES)

Rice, G P

RESUMO

In this investigation, we studied the ability of human cytomegalovirus to infect peripheral blood mononuclear cells. With monoclonal antibody technology, we demonstrated that cytomegalovirus could infect human lymphocytes of T- and B-cell lineage, natural killer cells, and monocytes. Furthermore, virus expression was limited to the synthesis of immediate-early cytomegalovirus polypeptides. These peripheral blood mononuclear cells did not produce infectious virus, nor were mature virions visualized by electron microscopy. This abortive infection of mononuclear cells was most convincingly shown with stocks of cytomegalovirus that had been recently isolated from infected patients and passaged minimally in fibroblasts. This argues for an increased lymphotropic effect of some isolates of cytomegalovirus, compared to strains of virus that are extensively adapted to growth in fibroblasts. Furthermore, immunocompetent cells that were shown to be abortively infected with cytomegalovirus lost selected differentiated functions.

Documentos Relacionados

• Immediate-early genes of murine cytomegalovirus: location, transcripts, and translation products.
• Inhibition of human cytomegalovirus immediate-early gene expression by an antisense oligonucleotide complementary to immediate-early RNA.
• The Human Cytomegalovirus Major Immediate-Early Distal Enhancer Region Is Required for Efficient Viral Replication and Immediate-Early Gene Expression
• trans-activation and autoregulation of gene expression by the immediate-early region 2 gene products of human cytomegalovirus.
• Structure and expression of murine cytomegalovirus immediate-early gene 2.