Cytomegalovirus-induced T cell responses accelerate Alzheimer's disease progression in mice.
Overview
- Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4XN, UK
- Systems Immunity Research Institute, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4XW, UK
- Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, UK
- European Cancer Stem Cell Research Institute, School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF24 4HQ, UK
Abstract
Infections have long been implicated as causative factors in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Multiple studies have further suggested a key role for herpesviruses, such as cytomegalovirus (CMV).
Using transgenic 3xTg-AD mice, we demonstrate that systemic infection with the β-herpesvirus murine CMV (MCMV) accelerates the development of cognitive decline, tauopathy and synaptic loss in the hippocampus, all of which are key features of AD.
Accelerated disease progression after infection was associated with substantial lymphocyte infiltration into the brain, dominated by MCMV-specific effector memory CD8+ T cells expressing CXCR3. T cell receptor analyses revealed that clonally diverse virus-specific CD8+ T cells were selectively recruited into the brain during the development of AD. T cell depletion or treatment with the antiviral drug valganciclovir during chronic infection reduced lymphocytic infiltrates in the brain and reversed cognitive decline.
These data provide a mechanistic link between chronic viral infections and the development of AD.
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
Code
The paper links to its data, not to its authors' code: see the Data section.
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Data
Datasets cited
- zenodo:15125167 — at Zenodo; found in “Data availability”
Data availability
All original TCR sequencing data are freely available in fully annotated form via Zenodo (10.5281/
Reproduced under the paper's license (CC BY), from the paper cited above.
Versions
The history of this record: each version stored by the harvester or made by a correction of its authors or of the maintainers of its code, and what changed in its facts. The texts of the paper (its abstract, its availability statements) are not part of it; versions that changed only those are not listed.
Version 1, 27 September 2026: the first record
Recorded: type, language, journal, volume, issue, pages, dates, 17 authors, 6 keywords, 12 MeSH terms, 5 funders, 65 references.
Cite
This paper
Marsden, M., McLaren, J. E., Bevan, R. J., Penn-Ripley, D., Somerville, M., Lauder, S. N., Jones, M. H., Maros, L.-B., McGurk, M. R., Gallimore, A., Price, D. A., Miners, K. L., Ladell, K., Siebzehnrubl, F. A., Hughes, T. R., Humphreys, I. R., & Clement, M. (2026). Cytomegalovirus-induced T cell responses accelerate Alzheimer's disease progression in mice. Brain : a journal of neurology, 149(9), 3214-3227. https://
BibTeX
@article{marsden2026cyto
author = {Marsden, Morgan and McLaren, James E and Bevan, Ryan J and Penn-Ripley, Daisy and Somerville, Michelle and Lauder, Sarah N and Jones, Manon H and Maros, Lila-Blythe and McGurk, Matthew R and Gallimore, Awen and Price, David A and Miners, Kelly L and Ladell, Kristin and Siebzehnrubl, Florian A and Hughes, Timothy R and Humphreys, Ian R and Clement, Mathew},
title = {{Cytomegalovirus-induce
journal = {Brain : a journal of neurology},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
volume = {149},
number = {9},
pages = {3214--3227},
publisher = {Oxford University Press},
issn = {0006-8950},
doi = {10.1093/
url = {https://
pmid = {42442404},
pmcid = {PMC13548865}
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
AU - Marsden, Morgan
AU - McLaren, James E
AU - Bevan, Ryan J
AU - Penn-Ripley, Daisy
AU - Somerville, Michelle
AU - Lauder, Sarah N
AU - Jones, Manon H
AU - Maros, Lila-Blythe
AU - McGurk, Matthew R
AU - Gallimore, Awen
AU - Price, David A
AU - Miners, Kelly L
AU - Ladell, Kristin
AU - Siebzehnrubl, Florian A
AU - Hughes, Timothy R
AU - Humphreys, Ian R
AU - Clement, Mathew
TI - Cytomegalovirus-induced T cell responses accelerate Alzheimer's disease progression in mice
T2 - Brain : a journal of neurology
J2 - Brain
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/
VL - 149
IS - 9
SP - 3214
EP - 3227
SN - 0006-8950
PB - Oxford University Press
DO - 10.1093/
UR - https://
LA - en
ER -
CSL-JSON
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