Cytomegaloviruses and malignant brain tumors

The review analyzes in detail the data on cytomegalovirus (CMV) as the cause of the development of malignant brain tumors. The use of modern methods of immunohistochemistry and polymerase chain reaction makes it possible to detect both individual proteins and CMV genes in tumor tissue, while virus cannot be isolated from tumor tissue using classical virological methods. The paper discusses the theories of "hit-and-run" and "microinfections", which explain the mechanism of action of CMV. The data on various molecular mechanisms of transformation of normal cells into tumor cells under the action of CMV are presented. The presence of CMV was shown not only in tumor cells, but also in neural stem cells, monocytes and macrophages. The possibility of using immunotherapy with T-lymphocytes and CMV-based dendritic cellular vaccines for the treatment of cancer patients is discussed in detail. Clinical data on their effectiveness are presented. Three possible mechanisms of the action of immunotherapeutic drugs containing CMV antigens are considered.