Human Cytomegalovirus Delays Neutrophil Apoptosis and Stimulates the Release of a Prosurvival Secretome.

ABSTRACT: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a major cause of viral disease in the young and the immune-suppressed. At sites of infection, HCMV recruits the neutrophil, a cell with a key role in orchestrating the initial immune response. Herein, we report a profound survival response in human neutrophils exposed to the clinical HCMV isolate Merlin, but not evident with the attenuated strain AD169, through suppression of apoptosis. The initial survival event, which is independent of viral gene expression and involves activation of the ERK/MAPK and NF-κB pathways, is augmented by HCMV-stimulated release of a secretory cytokine profile that further prolongs neutrophil lifespan. As aberrant neutrophil survival contributes to tissue damage, we predict that this may be relevant to the immune pathology of HCM

SUBMITTER: Pocock JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5622148 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature