Analysis of the interferon status and cytokine profile in patients with genital herpes

The present work is dedicated to the investigation and complete characterization of the interferon (IFN) and cytokine profile in 8 patients with genital herpes caused by the herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). The control group included 42 healthy individuals. The patients with genital herpes showed a significant reduction in the ability to produce IFN-alpha and a slight decrease in the ability to produce IFN-gamma. At the same time, most of the patients had high titers of circulating plasma IFN and of IFN that is spontaneously produced by blood cells, which is suggesting the presence of the active acute stage of the disease. The immune reaction in patients with HSV-2 infection has been characterized based on the analysis of the stimulation and suppression of mRNA expression for cytokines. Activation of the cellular and humoral immunity as well as abnormalities in B-cell immunity was observed in most cases of acute genital herpes.