Objective: To research the structure of the unique gene UL148 of the human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) clinical strain in Guangzhou, analyze the relation between its structure polymorphism and HCMV congenital infection, investigate the function of its expression products, and try to reveal the pathogenic mechanism of the gene in HCMV infection in newborns.
Methods: Urine samples were collected from 10 newborns with HCMV infection and inoculated on human fetal lung cells. The viral DNA was isolated, and UL148 gene fragment was amplified and identified. After TA clone and gene sequencing, total RNA of virus was extracted and the mRNA expression of UL148 gene was identified by using RT-PCR.
Results: The UL148 gene complete sequence was determined. A specific 582 bp length DNA fragment was amplified by RT-PCR, which confirmed the expression of UL148 gene.
Conclusions: UL148 gene exists in the low-passage clinical HCMV isolate from Guangzhou. It is confirmed that open reading frame of UL148 has genetic structure with mRNA expression.