Depressed herpes simplex virus-induced lymphocyte blastogenesis in individuals with severe recurrent herpes infections

Studies of lymphocyte blastogenesis were carried out on two children with demonstrated unusual susceptibility to recurrent herpes infections and on twenty volunteers suffering from recurrent cold sores. Depressed responses were observed in the two children as well as their parents and in five individuals with a high frequency of clinical disease (greater than six attacks per year). There was a significantly greater blastogenic response during convalescence from cold sores as compared to the response during the acute attack. The blastogenic response was not antibody dependent although the response of cells cultured in sera from seronegative nonresponders and seropositive low responders was significantly less than in allogeneic serum from seropositive high responders. Depressed in vitro responses to suboptimal concentrations of phytohemagglutinin of lymphocytes from individuals with impaired HSV responses suggest that the latter may be due to a generalized reduction in lymphocyte responsiveness which could represent a macrophage-dependent defect. This defect is probably the result rather than the cause of herpes simplex virus recurrence.