Antibody Response to the Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Ag‐4 Antigen in Guinea Pigs With Genital Herpes Infections

Abstract

Summary Female guinea pigs, inoculated intravaginally with a herpes simplex virus‐type 2 (HSV‐2) strain M1, developed typical symptoms of a primary and recurrent genital herpes infection. Sera from HSV‐2 infected guinea pigs taken during the primary or recurrent stages of the genital infection contained complement (C)‐fixing antibody which reacted with an apparent type specificity to an early 4 h HSV‐2 infected cell extract (AG‐4) when compared to a 4 h HSV‐1 infected cell extract. This C‐fixing anti‐AG‐4 activity was shown to be associated with the IgG2 subclass and directed primarily against HSV‐2 infected cell polypeptide (ICP)6 and ICP8. Furthermore, C‐fixing anti‐AG‐4 levels remained constant after the primary infection and during recurrences for over 6 months. Thus, while the anti‐AG‐4 response in guinea pigs was of the IgG type, it varied from that found previously in human genital HSV‐2 sufferers which was of the IgM type. Also, while an IgG anti‐AG‐4 response in human genital HSV‐2 sufferers is associated with a reduction in the number of recurrences, this reduction is not apparent in the guinea pig model.

Modification of the Genital Herpes Infection in a Guinea Pig Model, by Prior Immunization with Bovine Herpes Mammillitis Virus

“…Evidence of neutralizing antibody activity was considered when BHK-21 cells exhibited less than 30 % cytopathic effect. For antibody characterization, 18-hr BHMV CSIRO 290 (late) infected BHK-21 cell extracts were used in a urease-ELISA assay as described previously (5). Guinea pig sera were also used to immunoprecipitate 35S-methionine-labeled BHMV CSIRO 290 and HSV-2M1 late proteins as described previously (5).…”