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- Title
Persistence of mucosal T-cell responses to herpes simplex virus type 2 in the female genital tract.
- Authors
Posavad, C M; Zhao, L; Mueller, D E; Stevens, C E; Huang, M L; Wald, A; Corey, L
- Abstract
Relatively little is known about the human T-cell response to herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in the female genital tract, a major site of heterosexual HSV-2 acquisition, transmission, and reactivation. In order to understand the role of local mucosal immunity in HSV-2 infection, T-cell lines were expanded from serial cervical cytobrush samples from 30 HSV-2-infected women and examined for reactivity to HSV-2. Approximately 3% of the CD3+ T cells isolated from the cervix were HSV-2 specific and of these, a median of 91.3% were CD4+, whereas a median of 3.9% were CD8+. HSV-2-specific CD4+ T cells expanded from the cervix were not only more frequent than CD8+ T cells but also exhibited greater breadth in terms of antigenic reactivity. T cells directed at the same HSV-2 protein were often detected in serial cervical cytobrush samples and in blood. Thus, broad and persistent mucosal T-cell responses to HSV-2 were detected in the female genital tract of HSV-2+ women suggesting that these cells are resident at the site of HSV-2 infection. Understanding the role of these T cells at this biologically relevant site will be central to the elucidation of adaptive immune mechanisms involved in controlling HSV-2 disease.
- Subjects
HUMAN T cells; HERPES simplex virus; FEMALE reproductive organs; HERPES simplex transmission; IMMUNE response
- Publication
Mucosal Immunology (1933-0219), 2015, Vol 8, Issue 1, p115
- ISSN
1933-0219
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/mi.2014.47