# Immunologic and virologic determinants of congenital Cytomegalovirus transmission and disease in rhesus monkeys

> **NIH NIH P01** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $188,956

## Abstract

ABSTRACT – Immunologic and virologic determinants of congenital cytomegalovirus transmission
and disease in rhesus monkeys.
Congenital cytomegalovirus (CMV) is the leading infectious cause of birth defects and infant neurologic
deficits, yet gaps in our knowledge of the protective maternal immune responses has impeded the
development of a successful CMV vaccine to eliminate this cause of infant morbidity. The overarching goal of
this Program is to end the stalemate in congenital CMV vaccine research by defining the key immune
responses and viral-host interactions that dictate primary fetal CMV transmission and disease. To accomplish
this, the Program builds on our novel nonhuman primate (NHP) model of placental transmission of rhesus
CMV (RhCMV). Specifically, the Program will employ this newly defined NHP model in RhCMV-seronegative
pregnant dams to investigate the immune correlates of placental virus transmission and fetal disease (Project
1) and the viral determinants of placental RhCMV transmission (Project 2). An Administrative Core and four
scientific Cores provide critical expertise and resources required to integrate Program activities, including
administrative infrastructure and oversight (Administrative Core), NHP study implementation expertise (Core
1), virus production and quantitation (Core 2), whole viral genome sequencing and population genetics (Core
3) and statistical analyses and mathematical modeling (Core 4). Our overall hypothesis is that maternal
humoral and cellular immunity provides partial protection against placental CMV transmission and disease, and
viral-host immune interactions determine the emergence of both placentally transmitted and fetal CMV
variants. Our overall specific aims are: 1) Demonstrate whether CMV-specific humoral and/or cellular
responses confer protective efficacy against congenital infection and fetal disease; and 2) Define the key
virologic determinants and viral selection pressures of placental CMV transmission and subsequent fetal
disease. We expect the work of this Program will identify immune responses and virologic-host interactions
that will guide the design of the next generation of congenital CMV vaccines and will also refine the NHP model
to tailor it for future CMV vaccine candidate testing.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9982176
- **Project number:** 5P01AI129859-02
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Peter A Barry
- **Activity code:** P01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $188,956
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-07-24 → 2020-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9982176

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9982176, Immunologic and virologic determinants of congenital Cytomegalovirus transmission and disease in rhesus monkeys (5P01AI129859-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9982176. Licensed CC0.

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