Sequencing of CMV genomes in formalin-fixed tissues v.1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
High-throughput sequencing of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) genomes in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues
IRAS ID
246275
Contact name
Andrew Davison
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Glasgow
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 4 months, 1 days
Research summary
Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infection is the leading infectious cause of sensorineural hearing loss in children worldwide. In addition, children suffer from learning disability and in the worst cases, cCMV disease can be fatal. The evidence for treatment with the antiviral valganciclovir is only currently available for babies who are symptomatic or who have neurological signs. However, the majority of infected infants are asymptomatic and may still progress to develop symptoms. Currently, there are no prognostic markers to indicate which infants may develop symptoms and therefore could benefit from treatment or closer monitoring. Regarding the virus, there are multiple circulating strains of CMV. Studies in the past have looked for an association of certain strains with more severe disease. However, due to the limitation of past technology, these studies were only able to look at a part of the genome, giving inconclusive evidence to support or refute this idea. It is only recently with second-generation sequencing technology that we have been able to analyse the CMV genome as a whole. Professor Davison is a renowned expert in viral genomics at Glasgow University and has a team set up to perform both the sequencing work and the data analysis. As screening for cCMV is not current practice and its incidence is relatively low, historical stored histopathology specimens are a rational source of samples. Whole genome sequencing of these samples will enable better characterisation of the strains which cause severe disease. This preliminary study will help us to understand how viral strains may affect disease course and, in the future, may help clinicians decide which infected neonates will benefit from treatment. Small blocks of samples (approximately 10) from the Birmingham histopathology repository will be brought to Glasgow for processing, extraction and sequencing.
REC name
London - Stanmore Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1441
Date of REC Opinion
14 Aug 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion