Do NK cells limit the long term burden of CMV in older Australians and transplant recipients?

大多数人在幼年时感染巨细胞病毒。这种病毒不会自然地从体内清除，而是潜伏起来，并可能因压力或炎症而重新激活。对这些再激活的重复免疫反应会引起更多的炎症，并使免疫系统衰竭，从而导致衰老疾病（例如：心血管疾病）。在这里，我们研究免疫系统的哪些方面可以控制健康人和肾移植受者的巨细胞病毒。我们关注的是一种叫做自然杀伤细胞（NK）的细胞群。

Most people are infected with cytomegalovirus at an early age. The virus is not naturally cleared from the body but becomes latent and may be reactivated by stress or inflammation. Repeated immune responses to these reactivations causes more inflammation and wears out the immune system resulting in diseases of aging (eg: cardiovascular disease). Here we investigate which aspects of the immune system can control CMV in healthy people and in renal transplant recipients. We focus on a population of cells called natural killer (NK) cells.