title: Cytomegalovirus and immunotherapy: opportunistic pathogen, novel target for cancer and a promising vaccine vector.
abstract: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a β-herpesvirus that infects most people in the world and is almost always asymptomatic in the healthy host. However, CMV persists for life, requiring continuous immune surveillance to prevent disease and thus, CMV is a frequent complication in immune compromised patients. Many groups have been exploring the potential for adoptive T-cell therapies to control CMV reactivation as well as the progression of solid tumors harboring CMV. In addition, CMV itself is being explored as a vaccine vector for eliciting potent T-cell responses. This review will discuss key features of the basic biology of CMV-specific T cells as well as highlighting unanswered questions and ongoing work in the development of T-cell-based immunotherapies to target CMV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Dan A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Erkes
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Kimmel Cancer Center, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Snyder
mesh_terms: D019496:Cancer Vaccines / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D005822:Genetic Vectors / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D019496:Cancer Vaccines
keywords: adoptive immunotherapy; cytomegalovirus; immunotherapy; memory T cells; vaccination