Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells are fully permissive for human cytomegalovirus infection.
Congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection is a leading infectious cause of birth defects. Previous studies have reported birth defects with multiple organ maldevelopment in congenital HCMV-infected neonates. Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) are a group of stem/progenitor cells that are multi-potent and can self-renew, and they play a vital role in multi-organ formation. Whether MSCs are susceptible to HCMV infection is unclear. In this study, MSCs were isolated from Wharton's jelly of the human umbilical cord and identified by their plastic adherence, surface marker pattern, and differentiation capacity. Then, the MSCs were infected with the HCMV Towne strain, and infection status was assessed via determination of viral entry, replication initiation, viral protein expression, and infectious virion release using western blotting, immunofluorescence assays, and plaque forming assays. The results indicate that the isolated MSCs were fully permissive for HCMV infection and provide a preliminary basis for understanding the pathogenesis of HCMV infection in non-nervous system diseases, including multi-organ malformation during fetal development.
State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Guan-Hua
GH
Qiao
State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China.
Fei
F
Zhao
State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China. chengshuang@wh.iov.cn.
Shuang
S
Cheng
State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan Institute of Virology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, 430071, China. luomh@wh.iov.cn.
Min-Hua
MH
Luo
D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D016679:Genome, Viral; D006801:Humans; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000821:virology*; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology / Q000821:virology; D010948:Viral Plaque Assay; D014764:Viral Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D053586:Virus Internalization; D014779:Virus Replication
D014764:Viral Proteins
Wharton’s jelly; human cytomegalovirus (HCMV); multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs); susceptibility; umbilical cord