AUTHOR=Gao Juanzi , Wang Anmin , Bu Xiangyi , Jia Weidong 

TITLE=Acute murine cytomegalovirus infection boosts cell-type specific response and lipid metabolism changes in the liver of infant mice

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology

VOLUME=Volume 14 - 2023

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1169869

DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2023.1169869

ISSN=1664-3224

ABSTRACT=In infants, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection can cause severe diseases, including neonatal hepatitis; however, the single-cell dimensional mechanism of immune cell alteration after contracting the first CMV infection is still unknown.Hepatocytes play an essential role in metabolic homeostasis and detoxification; however, the effects of CMV infection on hepatic lipid metabolism in infants are still unclear. Based on single-cell RNA-sequencing, we found that murine MCV (MCMV) infected most liver cell types in infant mice and increased the percentage of proliferating CD8 effector T cells and a subset of Nos2 + monocytes; these cells may vital in the early anti-viral process. Furthermore, MCMV infection altered the protein expression profile of lipid metabolism in hepatocytes.Knocking down the key transcription factor PPAR-γ in hepatocytes inhibited CMV infection. Overall, our data highlighted the immune system response to early-stage MCMV infection and the impact of infection on hepatic lipid metabolism in infant mice.