Human Cytomegalovirus and Epstein-Barr virus specific immunity in patients with ulcerative colitis

Human Cytomegalovirus (HCMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) are endowed with the ability of establishing lifelong latency in human hosts and reactivating in immunocompromised subjects, including patients suffering from ulcerative colitis (UC). We, therefore, aimed to investigate virus-specific immunity in UC patients. A cohort of 24 UC patients (14 responders and 10 refractory to therapy) and 26 control subjects was prospectively enrolled to...