Sequential Changes in T and B Lymphocyte Responses to Herpes Simplex Virus in Man

Abstract

Lymphocytes of 7 patients with primary herpetic infection, 23 patients with recurrent herpes labialis and of 19 control subjects were separated into T [thymus-derived] and B [bone-marrow-derived] enriched cells by the use of nylon wool columns. In the absence of a herpetic infection the thymidine incorporation and macrophage migration inhibition responses to herpes simplex virus (HSV), Candida albicans and PPD [purified protein derivative], and the thymidine incorporation induced by PHA [phytohemagglutinin] were functions of T cells. When a herpetic infection was present the unfractionated lymphocyte response to HSV was increased, as measured by thymidine incorporation, but the T cell response was unchanged. T cells did show an increased response to HSV when prepared by elimination of cells forming rosettes with zymosan-complement. T cells of some patients were stimulated by contact with zymosan, and this correlated with the response to C. albicans. Lymphocyte responses to HSV in man are probably mediated by T cells. These cells are probably specifically retained by nylon wool columns at the time of a herpetic infection. This may be associated with acquisition of an Fc receptor by the sensitized T cells.