DIFFERENCES IN THE RECOGNITION OF CTL EPITOPES DURING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY RESPONSES TO HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS-INFECTION IN-VIVO

The immune response to HSV infection in C57BL/6 mice includes a CTL po pulation that recognizes the virion envelope glycoprotein gB. However, previous studies showed that CTL specific for other viral determinant s were also responding to HSV infection. These studies demonstrate tha t an additional determinant is the HSV immediate-early protein ICP27. During the primary response, both gB- and ICP27-specific CTL were dete cted in the draining lymph node. In response to reinfection, ICP27-spe cific CTL were present early in the lymph node, while the appearance o f gB-specific CTL activity was delayed. Analysis of the primary amino acid sequence of ICP27 predicted two potential K-b-binding epitopes, o ne of which sensitized uninfected cells for lysis by HSV-specific CTL. In addition, ICP27 epitope-specific CTL activity was detected in the splenic memory CTL pool. These results show that CTL which recognize d ifferent antigens may also exhibit differences in how they respond to HSV reinfection in vivo. (C) 1995 Academic Press, Inc.