THE HERPES-SPECIFIC IMMUNE-RESPONSE OF INDIVIDUALS WITH HERPES-ASSOCIATED ERYTHEMA MULTIFORME COMPARED WITH THAT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH RECURRENT HERPES LABIALIS

Infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) is the most common precipita ting factor in the development of erythema multiforme (EM). It is not known why only a few of the many individuals who experience recurrent HSV infection also develop herpes-associated EM (HAEM), although a dif ference in the HSV-specific immune response has been postulated. The p urpose of this study was to compare the HSV-specific immune response o f individuals with HSV infection alone with that of individuals with H AEM. There were 21 patients in each of the two groups. Four parameters of the HSV-specific immune response were examined: (1) anti-HSV IgG t iters were measured by ELISA; (2) antibody neutralization was assessed using a plaque assay; and (3) antibody-dependent complement-mediated cytotoxicity, and (4) antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity were in vestigated using a previously described in vitro HSV-specific cytotoxi city assay. No statistically significant differences were detected bet ween the two patient groups. Thus, a difference in these HSV-specific immune mechanisms does not explain the development of HAEM in some ind ividuals with recurrent HSV infection.