Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40966292›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025

Virion proteomics of genetically intact HCMV reveals a regulator of envelope glycoprotein composition that protects against humoral immunity.

Kirsten Bentley, Evelina Statkute, Isa Murrell, Ceri A Fielding, Robin Antrobus, Hannah Preston, Lauren Kerr-Jones, Daniel Cochrane, Ilija Brizic, Paul J Lehner and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

8 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Article
  3. A viral glycoprotein targets IgGEMBO molecular medicine · 2026
    Article
  4. Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Advancing antivirals.Nature biotechnology · 2025
    Article
  8. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Kirsten Bentley *Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-6619-2098
Evelina Statkute *Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.
Isa Murrell *Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.
Ceri A FieldingDivision of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-5817-3153
Robin AntrobusCambridge University Institute for Medical Research, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom.
Hannah PrestonDivision of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.
Lauren Kerr-JonesDivision of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.ORCID 0009-0003-4676-9958
Daniel CochraneDivision of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.
Ilija BrizicCenter for Proteomics, School of Medicine, University of Rijeka, Rijeka 51000, Croatia.ORCID 0000-0001-8839-7839
Paul J LehnerCambridge Institute for Therapeutic Immunology and Infectious Disease, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 0AW, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-9383-1054
Gavin W G WilkinsonDivision of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-5623-0126
Eddie C Y WangDivision of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-2243-4964
Stephen C GrahamDepartment of Pathology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 1QP, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-4547-4034
Michael P WeekesCambridge University Institute for Medical Research, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-3196-5545
Richard J StantonDivision of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff CF14 4XN, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-6799-1182

Funding

The role of cell, antigen, and antibody, in controlling virus infection through Fc-dependent mechanismsR01AI186964 · NIAID · CARDIFF UNIVERSITY · PI Ceri Fielding, Jordan Scott Orange · 2025 to 2026
$626k
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI186964UKRI | Medical Research Council (MRC) MR/S00971X/1UKRI | Medical Research Council (MRC) MR/X000516/1Wellcome TrustWellcome Trust (WT) 226615/Z/22/Z
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a clinically important herpesvirus that has coevolved for millions of years with its human host, and establishes lifelong persistent infection. A substantial proportion of its 235 kb genome is dedicated to manipulating host immunity through targeting antiviral host proteins for degradation or relocalization. Quantitative proteomics of the infected cell has extensively characterized these processes, but the cell-free virion has been less well studied. We therefore carried out proteomic analysis of a clinical HCMV strain (Merlin) virion. This revealed 18 novel components, including the viral protein gpUL141, which is recognized as an NK immune-evasin that targets several host proteins (CD155, CD112, and TRAILR) when expressed within the cell. Coimmunoprecipitation of gpUL141 from virions identified interactions with viral entry glycoproteins from the trimer (gH/gL/gO), pentamer (gH/gL/UL128/UL130/UL131A), and gH/gpUL116 complexes, as well as gB. Only interactions with gH/gB occurred in the absence of other viral proteins. Analysis supported a model in which gpUL141 homodimers independently interacted with separate gB/gH-containing complexes. gpUL141 encodes an ER retention domain that restricts trafficking through the ER/Golgi, and limited the transport of glycoprotein complexes bound by gpUL141. As a result, gpUL141 reduced levels of multiple glycoprotein complexes on the infected cell surface as well as in the virion. This reduced syncytium formation, inhibited antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC), and reduced susceptibility to neutralizing antibodies. Thus, gpUL141 represents an immune-evasin that not only targets host proteins to limit NK-cell attack, but also alters the trafficking of multiple viral glycoprotein complexes in order to evade humoral immunity.

Indexed as

CytomegalovirusImmunity, HumoralViral Envelope ProteinsVirionCytomegalovirus InfectionsHumansProteomicsViral Envelope ProteinsADCCentryglycoproteinsHCMVproteomics

Identifiers

PMID40966292
PMCPMC12478159

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.