Protective immunity against HSV-2 in the mouse vagina

Herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) is a sexually transmitted pathogen that infects the genital tract. The high prevalence of HSV-2 in humans underscores the need to develop an effective vaccine. Efforts to develop vaccines to protect women against this and other sexually transmitted pathogens would be facilitated by a better understanding of the immune mechanisms that protect the female reproductive tract against infections in animal models. Such information would be invaluable in developing vaccine strategies to promote the type and magnitude of immune responses in the genital tract that would effectively protect against infection. This review focuses on recent studies using a progestin-treated adult mouse model to explore mucosal immunity to HSV-2 in the vagina. Evidence indicating a major role for both humoral and T cell immunity is presented.