Hide-and-Seek Virus

摘要

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) establishes latent infection in human progenitor dendritic cells, causing significant morbidity and mortality on reactivation, which may occur in transplantation patients who are immunosuppressed. Neither detection nor selective removal of rare latent HCMV-infected cells has been possible. Weekes ef al. (p. 199) have found that the multidrug-resistant ABC transporter, multidrug resistance-associated protein-1 (MRP1) is down-regulated during latent HCMV infection. Consequently, cytotoxic MRPl-specific substrates are not exported from HCMV-infected cells and accumulate-leading to cell death, which could potentially provide a mechanism for eliminating infected cells prior to transplantation.