%0 Journal Article
%T Intravaginal cytomegalovirus (CMV) challenge elicits maternal viremia and results in congenital transmission in a guinea pig model
%A Megan J Olejniczak
%A K Yeon Choi
%A Michael A McVoy
%A Xiaohong Cui
%A Mark R Schleiss
%J Virology Journal
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1743-422x-8-89
%X Four groups of age- and size-matched guinea pigs were studied. Two groups were pregnant, and two groups were not pregnant. Animals received 5x105 plaque-forming units (PFU) of a GPCMV reconstituted from an infectious bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) construct containing the full-length GPCMV genome. Seroconversion was compared by IgG ELISA, and viremia (DNAemia) was monitored by PCR. In both pregnant and non-pregnant animals, sc inoculation resulted in significantly higher serum ELISA titers than ivg inoculation at 8 and 12 weeks post-infection. Patterns of viremia (DNAemia) were similar in animals inoculated by either sc or ivg route. However, in pregnant guinea pigs, animals inoculated by both routes experienced an earlier onset of DNAemia than did non-pregnant animals. Neither the percentage of dead pups nor the percentage of GPCMV positive placentas differed by inoculation route.In the guinea pig model of congenital CMV infection, the ivg route is as efficient at causing congenital infection as the conventional but non-physiologic sc route. This finding could facilitate future experimental evaluation of vaccines and antiviral interventions in this highly relevant animal model.Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) can be transmitted by multiple body fluids, including blood, saliva, urine, breast milk, cervical and vaginal secretions, and semen. One common route by which HCMV infections are acquired is through sexual transmission. An increased number of sex partners and a history of other sexually transmitted infections both correlate with an increased risk of HCMV seropositivity [1-3]. Viral shedding has been demonstrated for protracted periods in both cervical secretions and semen [4,5]. Sexual routes of transmission in adolescent and adult patients stand in contrast to routes of transmission among children between 1-3 years of age, where salivary secretions and urine are the most common sources of HCMV [6]. What remains unclear is how the route of transmission affe
%U http://www.virologyj.com/content/8/1/89