Expression Data From HCMV-Infected Human Monocytes: Role of EGFR

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) induces pro-inflammatory monocytes following infection and we have evidence that EGFR is a key mediator in this early activation. To begin to address how this signalling pathway is responsible for the rapid activation of infected monocytes, we examined the role this pathway played in the transcriptome of infected monocytes. Global transcriptional profiling using cDNA microarrays revealed a significant number of genes, including inflammatory genes, were regulated in a EGFR-dependent manner, identifying this pathway as a key cellular control point in the conversion of monocytes to an activated pro-inflammatory state following HCMV infection. Keywords: Disease state To begin to globally define how EGFR is involved in the HCMV-induced changes in monocyte function, we performed a transcriptome analysis in the presence of inhibitors to the EGFR signalling pathway. Specifically, a cDNA microarray containing 12,625 unique probe sets was utilized to assess the modulation of the monocyte transcriptome at 24 hours post infection in the presence of blocking anti-EGFR antibody and pharmacological agent AG1478 (AG; an EGFR inhibitor). A total of 4 replicates from mock-infected, HCMV-infected, anti-EGFR antibody-pretreated infected and AG-pretreated infected monocytes were analyzed in this study.