Polymorphisms within human cytomegalovirus chemokine (UL146/UL147) and cytokine receptor genes (UL144) are not predictive of sequelae in congenitally infected children.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) viral chemokine, UL146, and TNF alpha-like receptor UL144 genes show a high degree of hypervariability in clinical isolates. These proteins are predicted to be immune modulators and may contribute to the pathogenesis of HCMV infections. We analyzed the UL146 and UL144 genetic variation of 51 HCMV isolates from congenitally infected children and 13 isolates from children in childcare.