Establishment of experimental models for the study of congenital cytomegalovirus infection

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24591616
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Embryonic/Neonatal medicine
• Research Institution: National Research Institute for Child Health and Development
• Principal Investigator: NAKAMURA Hiroyuki 独立行政法人国立成育医療研究センター, その他部局等, 室長 (70256866)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: サイトメガロウイルス / 母児感染 / 神経障害 / iPS細胞 / 先天性感染症 / 難聴 / アポトーシス

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Congenital human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection causes neurodevelopmental disorders such as mental retardation and sensorineural hearing loss. To understand the neuropathogenesis of congenital HCMV infection, we established experimental models of HCMV infection using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and several neural cell lines. iPSC-derived neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) and the cell lines were susceptible to HCMV infection and allowed the expression of viral gene products. HCMV infection induced apoptosis in NSPCs. To explore key molecules of CMV-induced neural disorders, we performed microarray analysis and assessed changes in cellular gene expression induced by HCMV infection. We identified cellular genes which may be involved in the mechanism of HCMV-induced neurological diseases.

Free Research Field

ウイルス学