# Immune correlates of protection against nonprimary congenital cytomegalovirus transmission in an HIV-infected mother-infant cohort

> **NIH NIH F30** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $37,649

## Abstract

Immune correlates of protection against nonprimary congenital cytomegalovirus transmission in an
 HIV-infected mother-infant cohort
ABSTRACT
Vertical transmission of cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the most common congenital infection worldwide, resulting
in deafness and neurodevelopmental delay for affected children. Natural maternal immunity to CMV only
partially protects against mother-to-child in utero transmission, and indeed, the majority of congenital CMV
(cCMV) transmissions worldwide occur in the setting of preexisting maternal immunity. A vaccine to prevent
pregnant women from acquiring CMV or subsequently transmitting the virus to their child in utero has been a
top priority for the U.S. National Academy of Medicine for nearly twenty years. However, vaccine development
remains impeded by a gap in knowledge of the immune responses that protect again cCMV transmission,
particularly in CMV-seropositive women.
Chronically CMV-infected, HIV-uninfected mothers transmit CMV in utero at a rate of ~1%, yet CMV/HIV-
coinfected mothers transmit CMV at a rate 5- to 10-fold higher. The mechanisms underlying this high incidence
of cCMV in HIV-infected women remain underexplored but suggest that impaired CMV-specific maternal
immunity may contribute to cCMV transmission. Thus, the high incidence of cCMV among HIV-exposed,
uninfected infants provides a unique opportunity to define the maternal immune correlates of protection against
cCMV transmission in CMV-seropositive populations.
In this study, I propose to study samples from 9 historical cohorts spanning 12 countries of HIV-infected
mothers and their HIV-exposed infants to define the maternal CMV-specific humoral and cellular responses
associated with protection against cCMV. I hypothesize that the high rate of cCMV transmission in chronically
HIV/CMV-infected women is due to reduced maternal immune responses against diverse CMV strains
compared to HIV-uninfected women. In this study, I aim to (1) Identify the maternal antibody immune correlates
of protection against cCMV in HIV/CMV-coinfected mothers, (2) Identify the maternal cellular immune
correlates of protection against cCMV in HIV/CMV-coinfected mothers, (3) Compare the diversity of placentally
transmitted CMV variants in HIV-exposed and unexposed infants. By identifying maternal immune correlates of
protection against cCMV transmission in CMV-seropositive mothers, this work will provide valuable insight into
rational vaccine design for CMV-seropositive populations to reduce the global burden of cCMV.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10140731
- **Project number:** 1F30HD100170-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Jennifer Jenks
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $37,649
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-11-01 → 2023-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10140731

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10140731, Immune correlates of protection against nonprimary congenital cytomegalovirus transmission in an HIV-infected mother-infant cohort (1F30HD100170-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10140731. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*