Background: The molecular regulation of viral latency and reactivation is a central unsolved
issue in the understanding of cytomegalovirus (CMV) biology. Like human CMV (hCMV),
murine CMV (mCMV) can establish a latent infection in cells of the myeloid lineage. Since
mCMV genome remains present in various organs after its clearance from hematopoietic
cells first in bone marrow and much later in blood, there must exist one or more widely
distributed cell type (s) representing the cellular site (s) of enduring mCMV latency in host …