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Monoclonal antibodies targeting novel MCMV proteins

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is an important human pathogen which is responsible for devastating congenital disease and organ transplant failure in individuals with immature and/or suppressed immune system. HCMV research is hindered largely by the strict species specificity of the virus, which rules out the use of experimental animals in HCMV studies. Fortunately, murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) shares many biological and pathological features with and is genetically related to HCMV, making it an excellent model virus for research of human cytomegalovirus pathogenesis in vivo. However, despite intensive efforts, our understanding of the MCMV biology and pathogenesis is still fragmentary, largely due to the fact that the true numbers and functions of many MCMV genes are still unknown. Therefore, our group has performed systematic transcriptomic profiling of the MCMV infection and identified numerous completely novel viral transcripts, of which some were intensively transcribed and/or underwent splicing during infection. Since newly identified viral transcripts likely encode proteins needed for successful infection, we have started to generate monoclonal antibodies and perform functional characterization of these putative viral proteins. Interestingly, all proteins analyzed in this manner have been found to play a role in the evasion of the host immune-responses to the viral infection.

monoclonal antibodies; MCMV; mAbs

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