Human cytomegalovirus glycoprotein B genotype correlates with different symptoms of infected infants.

OBJECTIVES

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the pathogen of cytomegalic inclusion disease of infants. HCMV strains can be classified into four genotypes of glycoprotein B (gB). There are limited data concerning links between clinical symptoms and HCMV genotypes. The aims of the present study were to determine the genotype of HCMV isolates from pediatric patients who have different symptoms on the assumption that the gB genotype may influence the outcomes of congenital and prenatal HCMV infection.

METHODS

The gB types of HCMV were determined in urine specimens from 208 infected infants using nested polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism.

RESULTS

These data showed the dominance of the gB1 genotype in HCMV-infected infants. The distributions of HCMV gB genotypes in jaundice, malformation, and pneumonia patients are different.

CONCLUSION

There are some relationships between the gB genotypes and the different symptoms of HCMV infection. The four gB genotypes of HCMV may have different clinical outcomes in infected infants.