The cytomegalic inclusion cell and disease; a hypothesis

Infections due to human cytomegalovirus are common in the general population, disease on the other hand is rare, being usually associated with the presence of cytomegalic inclusion bearing cells in the tissues. It can be inferred that in healthy individuals latently infected with this agent, such cells are promptly destroyed by the policing immune system and the efficiency of this immune surveillance is due to the high degree of antigenic disparity of cytomegalic inclusion bearing and normal cells. However, any impairment of the immune defence may render the host unable to deal with the inclusion bearing cells, which are then believed to induce at least some of the severe clinical symptoms of cytomegalic inclusion disease.