Vaccine induced HSV 1 antibodies fail to correlate with protection against HSV 2 in guinea pigs.

Guinea pigs immunised with HSV 1 subunit vaccine were bled, and subsequently challenged intravaginally with HSV 2. The clinical response to virus challenge was quantified, and correlations were sought between clinical score and virus-specific serum antibody titre in functional and binding assays (ELISA, neutralization, complement-mediated cytotoxicity and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity). No significant relationships were found, and it was concluded that reactivity in the serological assays chosen did not correlate with protection against HSV 2 genital infection in vaccinated female guinea pigs.