Cytomegalovirus alpha-chemokine genotypes are associated with clinical manifestations in children with congenital or postnatal infections

- The distribution of vCXCL genotypes in infants with HCMV infection was determined.
- An association between the viral genotype and viruria level was found.
- A strong correlation between the HCMV UL146 and UL147 sequences was found.
- The certain vCXCL genotypes are associated with sequelae following HCMV infection.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is the leading cause of congenital infections. The aim of our study was to determine the prevalence of genotypes based on the highly polymorphic UL146 and UL147 HCMV genes and the relationship between the genotype and symptoms or viral load.We analyzed samples from 121 infants with symptomatic HCMV infection, including 32 congenitally infected newborns. The G7 and G5 genotypes were predominant in postnatal infection, whereas the G1 genotype was prevalent in congenital infection. Central nervous system (CNS) damage and hepatomegaly were detected more frequently among children infected with the G1 genotype than in those infected by other genotypes. An association between the viral genotype and viruria level was found. There was a strong correlation between HCMV genotypes determined through the UL146 and UL147 sequences (ĸ=0.794).In conclusion, we found that certain vCXCL genotypes are associated with clinical sequelae following HCMV infection.