Cellular immunity to herpes simplex infection in humans

A comparison of lymphocyte interferon production and transformation as in vitro parameters of cellular immunity to herpes simplex in humans in different types of mononuclear cell cultures is reported. Mononuclear cells were purified on Ficoll-Hypaque gradients and nylon fiber columns (purified T lymphocytes). Reactivity was then compared to that observed in autochthonous macrophage-lymphocyte cultures. The quantity and type (I or II) of interferon, as well as the magnitude of the transformation response, is affected by the type of cell culture used for assay. The kinetics of lymphocyte reactivity in doners studied within 12 weeks after disease were compared to those occurring at greater than 12 weeks after disease and in seronegative donors. The observed kinetics were variable according to the methods used to prepare mononuclear cells for culture.