MINNEAPOLIS — The National Institutes of Health awarded a 5-year, $3.87 million R01 grant to the University of Minnesota Medical School. The grant funds research into how the immune system protects against congenital cytomegalovirus infection.

Mark Schleiss, a professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School and a pediatrician with M Health Fairview, leads the research team. The team will investigate how cytomegalovirus interacts with the immune system and identify factors that influence its transmission from mother to fetus.

Cytomegalovirus is the most common infectious cause of neurodevelopmental disabilities in children in the United States. It is believed to be one of the leading causes of neurodevelopmental disabilities in children globally. When a cytomegalovirus infection occurs during pregnancy, the virus can cross the placenta and infect the developing fetus, potentially resulting in hearing loss and other neurological and developmental complications.

"We need treatments to help mothers and newborns. Understanding the immunological mechanisms that control and prevent CMV infection in pregnancy can be translated into new therapies and prevention strategies. Using a laboratory model I developed 35 years ago, I will continue my quest to understand how this virus transmits to the developing fetus and how to improve pregnancy outcomes by preventing CMV infection and transplacental transmission in the pregnant patient and in the newborn infant," Schleiss said.

The research team will use a preclinical strain of cytomegalovirus that closely mirrors human disease and study the molecular virology and immune response to cytomegalovirus proteins. The team will design studies to assess how the findings might be translated into preventive and therapeutic strategies for pregnant patients and newborns. "By learning more about how the immune response protects against congenital CMV infection, we hope to develop approaches that improve pregnancy outcomes and help ensure that every child has the opportunity to achieve their full potential," Schleiss said.