CMV and Immunosenescence: from basics to clinics

Rafael Solana, Raquel Tarazona, Allison E Aiello, Arne N Akbar, Victor Appay, Mark Beswick, Jos A Bosch, Carmen Campos, Sara Cantisán, Luka Cicin-Sain, Evelyna Derhovanessian, Sara Ferrando-Martínez, Daniela Frasca, Tamas Fulöp, Sheila Govind, Beatrix Grubeck-Loebenstein, Ann Hill, Mikko Hurme, Florian Kern, Anis Larbi, Miguel López-Botet, Andrea B Maier, Janet E McElhaney, Paul Moss, Elissaveta Naumova, Janko Nikolich-Zugich, Alejandra Pera, Jerrald L Rector, Natalie Riddell, Beatriz Sanchez-Correa, Paolo Sansoni, Delphine Sauce, Rene van Lier, George C Wang, Mark R Wills, Maciej Zieliński, Graham Pawelec

Alone among herpesviruses, persistent Cytomegalovirus (CMV) markedly alters the numbers and proportions of peripheral immune cells in infected-vs-uninfected people. Because the rate of CMV infection increases with age in most countries, it has been suggested that it drives or at least exacerbates "immunosenescence". This contention remains controversial and was the primary subject of the Third International Workshop on CMV & Immunosenescence which was held in Cordoba, Spain, 15-16th March, 2012. Discussions focused on several main themes including the effects of CMV on adaptive immunity and immunosenescence, characterization of CMV-specific T cells, impact of CMV infection and ageing on innate immunity, and finally, most important, the clinical implications of immunosenescence and CMV infection. Here we summarize the major findings of this workshop.