Herpes simplex virus (HSV)-specific proliferative and cytotoxic T-cell responses in humans immunized with an HSV type 2 glycoprotein subunit vaccine.

Studies were undertaken to determine whether immunization of humans with a herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) glycoprotein-subunit vaccine would result in the priming of both HSV-specific proliferating cells and cytotoxic T cells. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from all eight vaccines studied responded by proliferating after stimulation with HSV-2, HSV-1, and glycoprotein gB-1. The PBL of five of these eight vaccines proliferated following stimulation with gD-2, whereas stimulation with gD-1 resulted in relatively low or no proliferative responses. T-cell clones were generated from HSV-2-stimulated PBL of three vaccinees who demonstrated strong proliferative responses to HSV-1 and HSV-2. Of 12 clones studied in lymphoproliferative assays, 9 were found to be cross-reactive for HSV-1 and HSV-2. Of the approximately 90 T-cell clones isolated, 14 demonstrated HSV-specific cytotoxic activity. Radioimmunoprecipitation-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses confirmed that the vaccinees had antibodies only to HSV glycoproteins, not to proteins which are absent in the subunit vaccine, indicating that these vaccinees had not become infected with HSV. Immunization of humans with an HSV-2 glycoprotein-subunit vaccine thus results in the priming of T cells that proliferate in response to stimulation with HSV and its glycoproteins and T cells that have cytotoxic activity against HSV-infected cells. Such HSV-specific memory T cells were detected as late as 2 years following the last boost with the subunit vaccine.