CSF2 and infection: As reported previously by us and others [15,29–34], direct HCMV stimulation of pDC as well as monocyte-derived DC, GM-CSF MΦ, and M-CSF MΦ induced abundant IFN-α expression (Figure 1(a)) and secretion of IFN-α 24 hours post infection (hpi) (Figure 1(b)).