Regulatory roles of human OKT4/OKT8 subsets in polyclonal immunoglobulin production induced by herpes simplex type 1 virus.

T cells, OKT4 cells and OKT8 cells from the peripheral blood of normal individuals seropositive for herpes simplex type 1 virus (HSV) were studied for their capacity to regulate in vitro polyclonal immunoglobulin (Ig) production induced by inactivated HSV. Polyclonal Ig production induced by HSV has been demonstrated to be T-cell dependent. T cells, OKT4 cells and OKT8 cells were co-cultured with autologous non-T cells in the presence of HSV or pokeweed mitogen (PWM) and the number of plaque-forming cells (PFC) was measured with an hemolytic plaque assay after 6 days of culture. The results in the HSV system show that the OKT4 cells provided significantly more helper activity than OKT8 cells (p = 0.002); and the OKT8 cells exhibited more suppressor activity than OKT4 cells for Ig production (p = 0.02). The helper activity of OKT4 cells after HSV stimulation was significantly less than that obtained after pokeweed mitogen stimulation (p = 0.01). The in vitro polyclonal immunoglobulin response to HSV antigen is regulated by the balance of helper/suppressor activity exerted by OKT4 and OKT8 cell subsets.