Latent infection of myeloid progenitors by human cytomegalovirus protects cells from FAS-mediated apoptosis through the cellular IL-10/PEA-15 pathway

Latent infection of primary CD34(+) progenitor cells by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) results in their increased survival in the face of pro-apoptotic signals. For instance, we have shown previously that primary myeloid cells are refractory to FAS-mediated killing and that cellular IL-10 (cIL-10) is an important survival factor for this effect. However, how cIL-10 mediates this protection is unclear. Here, we have shown that cIL-10 signalling leading to upregulation of the cellular factor PEA-15 mediates latency-associated protection of CD34(+) progenitor cells from the extrinsic death pathway.