Background: Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is reported to affect up to 1% of all live births in the United States. T-cell immunity may be important for controlling CMV replication in congenital CMV-infected infants. We describe the natural history of CMV-specific T-cell evolution and CMV replication in infants with congenital CMV infection.
Methods: Cytomegalovirus viral load, CMV urine culture, and CMV-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses were assessed in a prospective longitudinal cohort of 51 infants with congenital CMV infection who were observed from birth to 3 years of age.
Results: We found a kinetic pattern of decreasing urinary CMV replication and increasing CMV-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cell responses during the first 3 years of life. We also found higher CMV-specific CD8 T-cell responses were associated with subsequent reduction of urine CMV viral load.
Conclusion: For infants with congenital CMV infection, our data suggest an age-related maturation of both CMV-specific CD4 and CD8 T-cell immunity that is associated with an age-related decline in urinary CMV replication.
Keywords: CMV-specific T cells; congenital CMV; PCR; T cells; kinetics.
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