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Persistence of latent CMV in the retina unlikely, study suggests
The human eye is an unlikely site for the persistence of cytomegalovirus in a latent state, a German study suggests.
Jens-Uwe Vogel and colleagues investigated the retinal presence of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigen and DNA in 75 eyes of HIV-seronegative patients undergoing enucleation for a variety of malignant and nonviral benign ophthalmic disorders.
None of the patients had symptoms of CMV retinitis. Immunohistologic staining and DNA polymerase chain reaction analysis showed no signs of CMV in the samples.
“Our data suggest that the human eye is rather unlikely to be a site of productive or latent HCMV persistence,” the study authors concluded.
The study is published in the July issue of Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology.