Cellmediated immunity in herpes simplex virus-infected mice: induction, characterization a d antiviral effects of delayed type hypersensitivity

Delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) was induced in mice sensitized with an intradermal inoculation of herpes implex virus type I (HSV-1). The reaction was observed 4 to 5 days p.i. and could still be induced up to I8 months later. In contrast, the adoptive transfer of DTH using draining lymph node cells was only possible during the period 6 to lO days p.i. The cells taken at these times also contained mediators f antiviral immunity, as determined by a marked reduction of virus titres in the ears of infected animals I to 3 days after transfer. Draining lymph node cells taken at later times contained mediators f virus immunity, but titres were not reduced until day 5 after the transfer. The cell type involved in both the DTH and antiviral activity was a T lymphocyte, although the particular T cell subsets involved have yet to be determined