Celebrating the 70th Anniversary of the Isolation of Human Cytomegalovirus: Where Are We Now and What Are the Future Challenges

Dear Colleagues,

To mark seventy years since the isolation of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), we invite submissions to a Special Issue celebrating the past, present, and future of HCMV research. This Issue welcomes original research articles, reviews, short perspectives, and commentaries covering any aspect of HCMV biology or clinical impact.

We are particularly interested in contributions addressing the following:

• Fundamental virology: viral entry, replication, genome regulation, and cell tropism;
• Latency and persistence: mechanisms of reactivation and viral–host interactions;
• Immunology: innate and adaptive responses, immune evasion, and host–pathogen co‑evolution;
• Clinical challenges: congenital infection, transplantation, and immunocompromised hosts;
• Therapeutics and vaccines: anti-viral discovery, resistance, and vaccine strategies;
• Diagnostics and epidemiology: biomarkers, technological advances, and global burden;
• Historical and forward-looking perspectives on seven decades of HCMV research.

This Special Issue aims to showcase cutting-edge science while reflecting on how the field has evolved and the challenges that lie ahead.

Prof. Dr. Mark R. Wills
Dr. Sarah Jackson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.