Cytomegalovirus (CMV) and human longevity: lessons from long-lived families

Abstract

Abstract Seropositivity for Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is one of the parameters comprising the "immune risk profile" (IRP) predicting mortality in the very elderly. However, as many centenarians are CMV-seropositive (CMV+), not infection per se, but the way in which the immune system controls the virus, might be important in ensuring longevity. To analyze this, we have investigated the CMV prevalence of individuals with 30% decreased mortality risk from long-lived families (offspring, n=200) and their partners as controls (n=200). 10-colour flow cytometry was used to determine the frequency of different adaptive and innate immune subsets in 100 offspring and 100 partners. CMV-serop..