PROTECTION AGAINST HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS-INDUCED EYE DISEASE AFTER VACCINATION WITH 7 INDIVIDUALLY EXPRESSED HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS-1 GLYCOPROTEINS

Purpose. To compare the efficacy of each of seven expressed herpes sim plex virus 1 (HSV-1) glycoproteins as vaccines to protect against ocul ar disease after primary ocular HSV-1 infection. Methods. Mice were va ccinated three times with equal amounts of each of seven individually expressed HSV-1 glycoproteins (gB, gC, pD, gE, gG, gH, and gI) and the n ocularly challenged with McKrae, a corneal disease-producing strain of HSV-1. Viral clearance from the eye, blepharitis, keratitis, and ne ovascularization were determined at various times after infection. Res ults. Mice vaccinated with gD or gB had the best protection against ey e disease. Vaccination with gI, gC, or gE produced moderate protection against eye disease. Vaccination with gG produced less protection, an d vaccination with gH produced no apparent protection against eye dise ase. Conclusions. These results suggest that when used as vaccines, di fferent HSV-1 glycoproteins provide different levels of protection aga inst HSV-1-induced eye disease. Based on comparison with the authors' previously published results, the ability of each glycoprotein to prot ect against eye disease correlated with the ability of the glycoprotei n to induce high serum neutralizing antibody titers and killer cell ac tivity. Results suggest that the effectiveness of these seven glycopro teins in protecting against eye disease can be ranked as follows: gD > gB > gI > (gC = gE) > gG > gH.