Cytomegalovirus glycoprotein H (gH)

Cytomegalovirus glycoprotein H (gH), encoded by the UL75 gene, is a critical component of the Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) entry machinery (UniProt P12824). It forms a mandatory heterodimer with glycoprotein L (gL), which serves as a scaffold for the assembly of larger complexes, specifically the gH/gL/gO trimer and the gH/gL/UL128/UL130/UL131A pentamer (PubMed: 28250113). These complexes are essential for viral attachment and the subsequent fusion of the viral envelope with host cell membranes; the trimer facilitates entry into fibroblasts, while the pentamer is required for entry into epithelial, endothelial, and myeloid cells (PubMed: 25653448). Because gH is indispensable for viral infectivity across various cell types, it is a primary target for the development of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies and subunit vaccines. Therapeutic strategies focusing on gH aim to prevent primary infection, reactivation, and vertical transmission to the fetus. While early monoclonal antibodies like Sevirumab (MSL-109) faced challenges in clinical trials, modern vaccine platforms, such as Moderna's mRNA-1647, utilize gH as a key antigen to elicit broad protective immunity (Moderna, 2024).

Other names

UL75Envelope glycoprotein HgH/gL complex subunitHCMV gHHuman cytomegalovirus glycoprotein H

Neutralization of viral infectivity by blocking membrane fusion or preventing the assembly/function of the viral entry complexes (trimer or pentamer).