Intranasal and subcutaneous immunization under the effect of estradiol leads to better protection against genital HSV-2 challenge compared to progesterone

This study examined the effect of hormonal environment on intranasal and subcutaneous routes of immunization in a genital herpes infection model. Ovariectomized mice were treated with estradiol (E(2)), progesterone (P(4)) or placebo hormone pellets and immunized intranasally (i.n.) or subcutaneously (s.c.) with attenuated HSV-2. Immunized mice were subsequently challenged, intravaginally, with wild-type HSV-2. Mice immunized under the influence …