title: Comparative magnitude and kinetics of human cytomegalovirus-specific CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T-cell responses in pregnant women with primary versus remote infection and in transmitting versus non-transmitting mothers: Its utility for dating primary infection in pregnancy.
abstract: To discriminate between primary (PI) and remote (RI) human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection, several immunological parameters were monitored for a 2-year period in 53 pregnant women with PI, and 33 pregnant women experiencing HCMV PI at least 5 years prior. Cytokine (IFN-γ and IL-2) production by and phenotype (effector/memory CD45RA(+)) of HCMV-specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) T-cells as well as the lymphoproliferative responses (LPR) were evaluated, with special reference to the comparison between a group of women transmitting (T) and a group of non-transmitting (NT) the infection to fetus. While HCMV-specific CD4(+) T-cells reached at 90 days post-infection (p.i.) values comparable to RI, CD8(+) T-cells reached at 60 days p.i. levels significantly higher and persisting throughout the entire follow-up. Instead, IL-2 production and lymphoproliferative responses were lower in PI than RI for the entire follow-up period. Effector memory CD45RA(+) CD4(+) and CD8(+) HCMV-specific T-cells increased until 90 days p.i., reaching and maintaining levels higher than RI. The comparison between T and NT women showed that, at 30 days p.i., in NT women there was a significantly higher IL-2 production by HCMV-specific CD4(+) T-cells, and at 60 days p.i. a significantly higher frequency of both specific CD4(+) and CD8(+) CD45RA(+) T-cells. HCMV T-cell response appears to correlate with virus transmission to fetus and some parameters (CD4(+) lymphoproliferation, and frequency of HCMV-specific CD8(+) IL2(+) T-cells) may help in dating PI during pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Experimental Research Laboratories, Transplantation Area, Foundation IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fornara
authors.affiliation: Microbiology and Virology Service, Foundation IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furione
authors.affiliation: Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinics, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Arossa
authors.affiliation: Experimental Research Laboratories, Transplantation Area, Foundation IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gerna
authors.affiliation: Experimental Research Laboratories, Transplantation Area, Foundation IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, Pavia, Italy.|Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Bellinzona, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lilleri
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D018414:CD8-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000276:immunology* / Q000635:transmission* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D007700:Kinetics; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007376:Interleukin-2; D007371:Interferon-gamma
keywords: T-cell response; human cytomegalovirus; pregnancy; primary infection; vertical transmission