Integrated Multi-Omics Analysis Reveals an HCMV-Associated Late-Gene Signature Associated with Poor Survival in...

Background: Previous work from our group demonstrated an association between immunohistochemical detection of Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) late antigen and poor event-free survival (EFS) in pediatric medulloblastoma. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) further identified increased abundance of HCMV-aligned reads at the UL88 locus, particularly in Group 3 tumors, a molecular subgroup associated with aggressive clinical behavior and poor prognosis. Methods: We performed an integrated multi-omics analysis of pediatric medulloblastoma using WGS (n = 39) and RNA sequencing (RNA-seq; n = 28) datasets. RNA-seq data were filtered using stringent alignment criteria (MAPQ ≥ 20) and compared with fetal brain (n = 12), adult brain (n = 12), and HCMV-infected cell culture controls (n = 3). Only high-confidence uniquely aligned reads were retained to reduce nonspecific and multi-mapped viral alignments. Sequencing reads were aligned to the HCMV Merlin reference genome (NC_006273.2) using a standardized analytical pipeline. A subset of 28 cases with matched tumor WGS, tumor RNA-seq, and germline WGS data was used for integrated multi-omics analyses. Orthogonal validation analyses were performed in Group 3 tumors using independent genomic and transcriptomic approaches. Exploratory survival analyses were conducted in a combined cohort (n = 84) integrating genomic and immunohistochemical datasets. Results: Recurrent low-level HCMV-aligned molecular signals were identified across medulloblastoma datasets. Reads aligning to UL76, UL88, and UL99 were the most consistently detected HCMV-associated late-gene signals across RNA-seq and WGS datasets. A composite HCMV late-gene signature (UL76-UL88-UL99) showed higher levels in Group 3 tumors than in other molecular subgroups (p < 0.05 in WGS analyses). Orthogonal analyses demonstrated concordant low-level HCMV-associated genomic and transcriptomic signals enriched in tumors with MYC-associated activation and chromosome 17 imbalance. In the combined cohort (n = 84), elevated HCMV-associated signal assessed by immunohistochemistry and genomic profiling was associated with reduced EFS (median 55 vs. 147 months; log-rank p < 0.001). The subgroup classified as HCMV-high Group 3 demonstrated the strongest association with adverse outcome in exploratory multivariable analyses (HR = 6.43, p = 0.002). Conclusions: This study identifies recurrent low-level HCMV-associated genomic and transcriptomic signals across pediatric medulloblastoma datasets, with preferential enrichment in biologically aggressive Group 3 tumors. Although the extremely low abundance of viral-aligned reads precludes definitive evidence of productive viral infection, the reproducible detection of HCMV-associated molecular signatures across independent sequencing platforms supports further investigation into a potential oncomodulatory association in pediatric medulloblastoma. Additional validation using optimized viral detection methodologies, independent cohorts, and mechanistic studies will be necessary to clarify the biological and clinical significance of these findings.