Differentiated levels of ganciclovir resistance conferred by mutations at codons 591 to 603 of the cytomegalovirus UL97 kinase gene

ABSTRACT Diagnostic mutations in the cytomegalovirus UL97 kinase gene are used to assess the level of associated ganciclovir resistance and therapeutic options. The best-known mutations at codons 460, 520, or 591 to 607 individually confer 5- to 10-fold-decreased ganciclovir susceptibility, except that a 3-fold decrease occurs in the case of the amino acid substitution C592G. Less common point and in-frame deletion mutations at codons 591 to 603 remain incompletely characterized. The ganciclovir susceptibilities of 17 mutants in this codon range were evaluated by use of the same recombinant phenotyping system and extensive assay replicates in two types of cell cultures. Amino acid substitutions K599E and T601M conferred no ganciclovir resistance, while A591V conferred 3.8-fold-decreased susceptibility. In-frame deletions of three or more codons conferred at least 8-fold-increased ganciclovir resistance, while the level of resistance conferred by one- or two-codon deletions varied from 4- to 10-fold, depending on their location. Measured levels of ganciclovir resistance were closely comparable when assays were performed in either fibroblasts or modified retinal epithelial cells. The significant revision of a few previously published resistance phenotypes and the new data strengthen the interpretation of genotypic testing for cytomegalovirus drug resistance.