E-Book Overview
John Sinclair and a panel of expert investigators present a comprehensive collection of cellular and molecular techniques for the analysis of cytomegalovirus (CMV) biology and its pathogenetic mechanisms. The methods-all described in step-by-step detail with ready reproducibility in mind-range from basic virus culture to complex molecular analysis of CMV structure and function. Included are methods for CMV detection using both immunological and biological techniques, methods for analyzing fundamental aspects of the CMV infection cycle, and methods for analyzing T cell response to cytomegalovirus infection in the human host. Comprehensive and state-of-the-art, Cytomegalovirus Protocols provides investigators with a collection of the key methods that are illuminating not only the basic biology of this complex and intriguing human herpesvirus, but also its significant role in human infectious diseases and their emergent therapies.
E-Book Content
Detection of HCMV
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1 Immunological Methods for the Detection of Human Cytomegalovirus Andrew D. Yurochko and Eng-Shang Huang
1. Introduction Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a double-stranded DNA virus in the herpesvirus family, is a ubiquitous virus that infects greater than 40–60% of the general population and up to 100% within some subpopulations and/or geographic areas (1). HCMV has a complex pathobiology because infection of immunocompetent individuals is rarely associated with severe clinical symptoms and in most cases is simply asymptomatic, whereas HCMV infections can cause a wide range of severe diseases, including mononucleosis, mental retardation, deafness, chorioretinitis, and fatal diseases, such as interstitial pneumonia and disseminated virus infections in immunocompromised hosts (1). As with other herpesviruses, HCMV is thought to establish latent or persistent infections. Reactivation of this i