ANALYSIS OF THE CYTOLYTIC T-LYMPHOCYTE RESPONSE TO HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS TYPE-1 GLYCOPROTEIN-B DURING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY INFECTION

The immune response to herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) infection i n C57BL/6 mice includes a population of major histocompatibility compl ex class I-restricted cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) that recognize the structural glycoprotein gB. To gain insight into the importance of th is CTL subpopulation in vivo, gB-specific CTL present in the regional lymph nodes after a primary infection and after a reinfection of conva lescent animals were analyzed. In a primary infection, gB-specific CTL precursors (CTLp) that recognized either a cell line constitutively e xpressing gB or cells pulsed with the optimal K-b-restricted gB epitop e (498)SSIEFARL(505) were present at an estimated frequency of 1/12,00 0 compared with a frequency of 1/3,000 for CTLp which recognized cells infected with HSV-1 itself In convalescent mice responding to reinfec tion, HSV-specific CTLp were present at an estimated frequency of 1/4, 000 to 1/14,000. However, gB-specific CTLp could not be detected at th is site. These findings suggest that CTL specific for an immunodominan t epitope contribute substantially to the primary response but may not be a component of the HSV-specific CTL population that responds rapid ly to reinfection in vivo.