Human cytomegalovirus productively replicates in undifferentiated oral epithelial cells.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) productive replication in vitro is most often studied in fibroblasts. In vivo, fibroblasts amplify viral titers, but transmission and pathogenesis require the infection of other cell types, most notably epithelial cells. In vitro, the study of HCMV infection of epithelial cells has been almost exclusively restricted to ocular epithelial cells. Here we present oral epithelial cells with relevance for viral interhost transmission as an in vitro model system to study HCMV infection. We discovered that HCMV productively replicates in normal oral keratinocytes (NOKs) and telomerase-immortalized gingival cells (hGETs). Our work introduces oral epithelial cells for the study of HCMV productive infection, drug screening, and vaccine development. IMPORTANCE The ocular epithelial cells currently used to study HCMV infections in vitro have historical significance based upon their role in retinitis, an HCMV disease most often seen in AIDS patients. However, with the successful implementation of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) regimens, the incidence of HCMV retinitis has rapidly declined, and therefore, the relevance of studying ocular epithelial cell HCMV infection has decreased as well. Our introduction here of oral epithelial cells provides two alternative in vitro models for the study of HCMV infection that complement and extend the physiologic relevance of the ocular system currently in use.