Report from the second cytomegalovirus and immunosenescence workshop

The first International Workshop on CMV & Immunosenescence was held in Tubingen, Germany, December 2009. The discussions focused on trying to define what immunosenescence is exactly, the phenotypes of the cells associated with it and what evidence was available that long term carriage of HCMV into old age was detrimental to health as assessed either by measuring all-cause mortality or degradation of the immune system such that older HCMV-seropositive individuals respond less well to neo-antigens such as seasonal influenza vaccination. The outcome of the first workshop was summarized in this Journal by Pawelec et al. [1]. The attendees at that workshop decided that it would be extremely valuable to meet again in a year's time with a remit to update participants on progress on questions left open from the first meeting's discussion, and to extend participation to other scientists omitted from or unable to attend the first workshop. The Second International Workshop on CMV & Immunosenescence was duly held in Cambridge, UK, 2-4th December, 2010. The second meeting format was modified to include a day of formal seminar presentations with some emphasis on the presentation of data that addressed open questions highlighted in the first meeting. This was then followed by a half-day round-table discussion.The seminar presentations covered four separate sessions: cytomegalovirus and T cell phenotypes; T cell memory frequency, inflation and immunosenescence; cytomegalovirus in aging, mortality and disease states; and the immunobiology of cytomegalovirus-specific T cells and effects of the virus on vaccination. This commentary summarizes the major findings of these presentations and references subsequently published work from the presenter laboratory where appropriate and draws together major themes that were subsequently discussed along with new areas of interest that were highlighted by this discussion.The impression left on the immune system of the majority of the population