Specific in vitro antibody response to varicella zoster

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal donors were stimulated in vitro by varicella zoster (VZ) antigen and antibody measured by an ELISA technique. Antibody was produced in 14 of 19 individuals. This antibody was specific for VZ with no binding to herpes simplex virus (HSV), even when the mononuclear cells were taken from individuals who had circulating antibody to VZ and HSV. The failure of antibody production in mononuclear cell cultures from some normals, all of whom had serum antibody, was analysed using reciprocal combinations of E+ and E- cells from producers and non-producers. E+ cells from producers could help E- producer cells make antibody, but E+ cells from non-producers could not help E- cells from non-producers to do so. This result suggests a deficiency in circulating E- cells in non-producers. Four of four patients with untreated Hodgkin's disease were non-producers using blood mononuclear cell cultures, but their spleen cells produced antibody readily. This suggests that failure of in vitro antibody production in immune individuals may be due to sequestration of responsive B cells in spleen and other sites. This technique allows further study of the mechanisms of immunity to VZ in normal and immune-compromised individuals.