Cytomegalovirus (CMV) – a new prospect for prevention

Abstract

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), a member of the Betaherpesvirinae subfamily of the Herpesviridae family, is a widespread pathogen. CMV is a virus usually completely harmless to healthy people; nevertheless, it is still a major cause of morbidity and mortality in immunocompromised individuals, such as organ transplant recipients (also haematopoietic stem cell transplantation) and AIDS patients. Furthermore, is a common cause of congenital infections. So far, it is not possible to take effective prevention activities, although there are high expectations in finding an effective vaccine. Understanding the detailed construction of the virus helped to create exactly harmless virus strains used for research. Progress in genetics and biotechnology allowed the carrying out of changes in the virus genome. Today, we know the different parts of the DNA code, are able to modify them, delete, and add inserts. All these actions bring us closer to achieving the objective of an effective and safe vaccine. The presented study shows the results of many different studies and attempts to find an effective vaccine against HCMV. The development direction of research is broad and includes various activities with the use of subunit vaccines, DNA vaccines, peptides and vaccines using the vectors. Some preparations are just at the beginning of a long journey for the registration of an acceptable vaccine, while others have entered into the last phase of clinical trials.