Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Maria Cristina Carlan da Silva
Center for Natural and Humanities Sciences, Federal University of ABC (UFABC), São Bernardo do Campo, Brazil
Chris Huang
Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Marianne Perera
Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Ian J. Groves
Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Mark Wills
Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Amer Rana
Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, United Kingdom
John Sinclair
Cambridge Institute of Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, University of Cambridge School of Clinical Medicine, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Understanding the mechanisms which regulate HCMV latency could allow therapeutic targeting of the latent virus reservoir from where virus reactivation can cause severe disease. We show that the BMPR2/TGFbeta receptor/YY1 signaling axis is crucial to maintain HCMV latency in undifferentiated cells and that pharmacological reduction of BMPR2 in latently infected cells leads to reactivation of the viral lytic transcription program, which renders the infected cell open to immune detection and clearance in infected individuals.