A leading cause of birth defects in humans is infection in pregnancy by cytomegalovirus (CMV), which can 'superinfect' individuals who are already infected and have developed immunity to the virus.
Louis Picker, Klaus Früh and their colleagues at Oregon Health and Science University in Beaverton wondered how the reinfecting virus dodges the immune response. In such a response, killer T cells are normally activated when presented with parts of a specific antigen by a protein complex called major histocompatibility complex class I that is found on the surface of host cells. CMV is known to interfere with this process.
The researchers show that this interference, which leads to T-cell evasion, is required for 'superinfection' in rhesus monkeys that are already infected with CMV. In animals never previously exposed to CMV, however, the virus caused long-term infection regardless of whether it was able to block T-cell activation.
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Immunology: Secret to superinfection. Nature 464, 816–817 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/464816e
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/464816e
