Luciferase-tagged wild-type and tropism-deficient mouse cytomegaloviruses reveal early dynamics of host colonization following peripheral challenge.

ABSTRACT: Cytomegaloviruses (CMVs) establish persistent, systemic infections and cause disease by maternal-foetal transfer, suggesting that their dissemination is a key target for antiviral intervention. Late clinical presentation has meant that human CMV (HCMV) dissemination is not well understood. Murine CMV (MCMV) provides a tractable model. Whole mouse imaging of virus-expressed luciferase has proved a useful way to track systemic infections. MCMV, in which the abundant lytic gene M78 was luciferase-tagged via a self-cleaving peptide (M78-LUC), allowed serial, unbiased imaging of systemic and peripheral infection without significant virus attenuation. Ex vivo luciferase imaging showed greater sensitivity than plaque assay, and revealed both well-known infection sites (the lungs, lymph nodes, sal

SUBMITTER: Farrell H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6542255 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature