Cell-Mediated Cytotoxicity in Recurrent Herpes Simplex Virus Infections in Man

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Abstract
Cell-mediated cytotoxic activity in circulating mononuclear cells from patients with recurrent herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections with types 1 and 2 was examined employing target cells acutely infected with HSV in a 51Cr-release assay. Cytotoxicity was determined both when lesions were present and when lesions were absent in otherwise normal patients and was compared to levels of cytotoxicity in sero-positive individuals without histories of recurrences. When lesions were present, patients with recurrences had significantly higher levels of cytotoxicity than when lesions were absent. In the absence of lesions, cytotoxicity in patients with recurrences was not significantly different from levels in sero-positive individuals without recurrences. These patterns of cytotoxicity were observed in patients with both HSV-1 and HSV-2 infections. These studies indicate that patients with recurrent HSV infections have intact cell-mediated immune responses, as measured by this assay; and that although the levels of response vary with activity of the underlying infection, the responses are equal to or greater than those observed in sero-positive individuals without recurrences.

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