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Al-Talib M, Dimonte S, Humphreys IR. Mucosal T-cell responses to chronic viral infections: Implications for vaccine design. Cell Mol Immunol 2024; 21:982-998. [PMID: 38459243 PMCID: PMC11364786 DOI: 10.1038/s41423-024-01140-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Mucosal surfaces that line the respiratory, gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts are the major interfaces between the immune system and the environment. Their unique immunological landscape is characterized by the necessity of balancing tolerance to commensal microorganisms and other innocuous exposures against protection from pathogenic threats such as viruses. Numerous pathogenic viruses, including herpesviruses and retroviruses, exploit this environment to establish chronic infection. Effector and regulatory T-cell populations, including effector and resident memory T cells, play instrumental roles in mediating the transition from acute to chronic infection, where a degree of viral replication is tolerated to minimize immunopathology. Persistent antigen exposure during chronic viral infection leads to the evolution and divergence of these responses. In this review, we discuss advances in the understanding of mucosal T-cell immunity during chronic viral infections and how features of T-cell responses develop in different chronic viral infections of the mucosa. We consider how insights into T-cell immunity at mucosal surfaces could inform vaccine strategies: not only to protect hosts from chronic viral infections but also to exploit viruses that can persist within mucosal surfaces as vaccine vectors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed Al-Talib
- Systems Immunity University Research Institute/Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, 5 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1UD, UK
| | - Sandra Dimonte
- Systems Immunity University Research Institute/Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK
| | - Ian R Humphreys
- Systems Immunity University Research Institute/Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XN, UK.
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Liberati C, Sturniolo G, Brigadoi G, Cavinato S, Visentin S, Cosmi E, Donà D, Rampon O. Burden of Congenital CMV Infection: A Narrative Review and Implications for Public Health Interventions. Viruses 2024; 16:1311. [PMID: 39205285 PMCID: PMC11360585 DOI: 10.3390/v16081311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/19/2024] [Revised: 08/14/2024] [Accepted: 08/15/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Cytomegalovirus causes the most common congenital infection worldwide. With most infants asymptomatic at birth, the few affected may present with variable clinical scenarios, from isolated hearing loss to severe neurologic impairment. Public health interventions include all actions at the health system, community, and individual levels that aim at reducing the burden of congenital Cytomegalovirus. This review examines the literature on maternal and neonatal screening programs in light of current evidence for treatment and the development of vaccines against Cytomegalovirus. Potential biases and benefits of these interventions are outlined, with the objective of increasing awareness about the problem and providing readers with data and critical tools to participate in this ongoing debate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Liberati
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Pediatric Infectious Disease, Padua University Hospital, 35126 Padua, Italy; (C.L.); (G.S.); (D.D.); (O.R.)
| | - Giulia Sturniolo
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Pediatric Infectious Disease, Padua University Hospital, 35126 Padua, Italy; (C.L.); (G.S.); (D.D.); (O.R.)
| | - Giulia Brigadoi
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Pediatric Infectious Disease, Padua University Hospital, 35126 Padua, Italy; (C.L.); (G.S.); (D.D.); (O.R.)
| | - Silvia Cavinato
- Infectious and Tropical Diseases Unit, Padua University Hospital, 35126 Padua, Italy;
| | - Silvia Visentin
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Gynecological and Obstetric Clinic, Padua University Hospital, 35126 Padua, Italy; (S.V.); (E.C.)
| | - Erich Cosmi
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Gynecological and Obstetric Clinic, Padua University Hospital, 35126 Padua, Italy; (S.V.); (E.C.)
| | - Daniele Donà
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Pediatric Infectious Disease, Padua University Hospital, 35126 Padua, Italy; (C.L.); (G.S.); (D.D.); (O.R.)
| | - Osvalda Rampon
- Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Pediatric Infectious Disease, Padua University Hospital, 35126 Padua, Italy; (C.L.); (G.S.); (D.D.); (O.R.)
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Stevens A, Cruz-Cosme R, Armstrong N, Tang Q, Zhou ZH. Structure-guided mutagenesis targeting interactions between pp150 tegument protein and small capsid protein identify five lethal and two live-attenuated HCMV mutants. Virology 2024; 596:110115. [PMID: 38805802 PMCID: PMC11260070 DOI: 10.1016/j.virol.2024.110115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2024] [Revised: 05/01/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) replication relies on a nucleocapsid coat of the 150 kDa, subfamily-specific tegument phosphoprotein (pp150) to regulate cytoplasmic virion maturation. While recent structural studies revealed pp150-capsid interactions, the role of specific amino-acids involved in these interactions have not been established experimentally. In this study, pp150 and the small capsid protein (SCP), one of pp150's binding partners found atop the major capsid protein (MCP), were subjected to mutational and structural analyses. Mutations to clusters of polar or hydrophobic residues along the pp150-SCP interface abolished viral replication, with no replication detected in mutant virus-infected cells. Notably, a single amino acid mutation (pp150 K255E) at the pp150-MCP interface significantly attenuated viral replication, unlike in pp150-deletion mutants where capsids degraded outside host nuclei. These functionally significant mutations targeting pp150-capsid interactions, particularly the pp150 K255E replication-attenuated mutant, can be explored to overcome the historical challenges of developing effective antivirals and vaccines against HCMV infection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Stevens
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ruth Cruz-Cosme
- Department of Microbiology, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Najealicka Armstrong
- Department of Microbiology, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Qiyi Tang
- Department of Microbiology, Howard University College of Medicine, Washington, DC 20059, USA
| | - Z Hong Zhou
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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Ye X, Shih DJH, Ku Z, Hong J, Barrett DF, Rupp RE, Zhang N, Fu TM, Zheng WJ, An Z. Transcriptional signature of durable effector T cells elicited by a replication defective HCMV vaccine. NPJ Vaccines 2024; 9:70. [PMID: 38561339 PMCID: PMC10984989 DOI: 10.1038/s41541-024-00860-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a leading infectious cause of birth defects and the most common opportunistic infection that causes life-threatening diseases post-transplantation; however, an effective vaccine remains elusive. V160 is a live-attenuated replication defective HCMV vaccine that showed a 42.4% efficacy against primary HCMV infection among seronegative women in a phase 2b clinical trial. Here, we integrated the multicolor flow cytometry, longitudinal T cell receptor (TCR) sequencing, and single-cell RNA/TCR sequencing approaches to characterize the magnitude, phenotype, and functional quality of human T cell responses to V160. We demonstrated that V160 de novo induces IE-1 and pp65 specific durable polyfunctional effector CD8 T cells that are comparable to those induced by natural HCMV infection. We identified a variety of V160-responsive T cell clones which exhibit distinctive "transient" and "durable" expansion kinetics, and revealed a transcriptional signature that marks durable CD8 T cells post-vaccination. Our study enhances the understanding of human T-cell immune responses to V160 vaccination.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohua Ye
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
- Center for Infectious Disease Research, School of Life Sciences, Westlake University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - David J H Shih
- School of Biomedical Informatics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Zhiqiang Ku
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Junping Hong
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Diane F Barrett
- Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
| | - Richard E Rupp
- Sealy Institute for Vaccine Sciences, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA
| | - Ningyan Zhang
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Tong-Ming Fu
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA
| | - W Jim Zheng
- School of Biomedical Informatics, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
| | - Zhiqiang An
- Texas Therapeutics Institute, Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
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Grgic I, Gorenec L. Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) Genetic Diversity, Drug Resistance Testing and Prevalence of the Resistance Mutations: A Literature Review. Trop Med Infect Dis 2024; 9:49. [PMID: 38393138 PMCID: PMC10892457 DOI: 10.3390/tropicalmed9020049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2024] [Revised: 02/07/2024] [Accepted: 02/13/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a pathogen with high prevalence in the general population that is responsible for high morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals and newborns, while remaining mainly asymptomatic in healthy individuals. The HCMV genome is 236,000 nucleotides long and encodes approximately 200 genes in more than 170 open reading frames, with the highest rate of genetic polymorphisms occurring in the envelope glycoproteins. HCMV infection is treated with antiviral drugs such as ganciclovir, valganciclovir, cidofovir, foscarnet, letermovir and maribavir targeting viral enzymes, DNA polymerase, kinase and the terminase complex. One of the obstacles to successful therapy is the emergence of drug resistance, which can be tested phenotypically or by genotyping using Sanger sequencing, which is a widely available but less sensitive method, or next-generation sequencing performed in samples with a lower viral load to detect minority variants, those representing approximately 1% of the population. The prevalence of drug resistance depends on the population tested, as well as the drug, and ranges from no mutations detected to up to almost 50%. A high prevalence of resistance emphasizes the importance of testing the patient whenever resistance is suspected, which requires the development of more sensitive and rapid tests while also highlighting the need for alternative therapeutic targets, strategies and the development of an effective vaccine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Grgic
- Department of Molecular and Immunological Diagnostic, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lana Gorenec
- Department of Molecular and Immunological Diagnostic, University Hospital for Infectious Diseases “Dr. Fran Mihaljevic”, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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