UL146/vCXC1 Proteins and Enzymes

Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a member of the beta herpesvirus subfamily, typically causes subclinical or latent infections in the normal adult population. However, CMV can cause congenital disease during pregnancy and is a human opportunistic pathogen that affects immunocompromised individuals. Virulent CMV clinical isolates have also been shown to carry at least 19 genes, designated UL133 - UL151, that are not found in laboratory strains that have lost virulence characteristics. Two of these genes, UL146 and UL147, exhibit sequence similarity to CXC chemokines.