Human cytomegalovirus US28: a functionally selective chemokine receptor

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a ubiquitous human pathogen associated with numerous inflammatory diseases, including vascular disease in solid organ allografts and certain forms of cancer. HCMV establishes lifelong persistent latent infections through nuanced manipulation of the host immune response. As such, HCMV encodes both chemokines and chemokine receptor homologs and can subvert the host chemokine signaling network in infected cells and tissues. The pathological consequences of CMV chemokine mimicry are only beginning to be understood. In this dissertation, we investigate signaling from the HCMV-encoded chemokine receptor US28 in multiple HCMV-susceptible cell types and identify a novel CMV-encoded chemokine.