title: Relative concentrations in human sera of antibodies to cross-reacting and specific antigens of Herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2.
abstract: The relative concentrations of antibodies to the cross-reacting and type-specific antigens of herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2 were examined in sera from patients who had been infected by type 1 virus only, by type 2 virus only or by both viruses. Complement-dependent lysis of 51Cr-labeled cells was used to measure antibodies to the surface antigens of cells infected by the viruses. Approximately 80% of the antibody activity was attributable to cross-reacting antigens and 20% to type-specific antigens in sera from patients infected with either type 1 or type 2 virus. Among patients infected with type 1 virus and then type 2 virus, approximately 90% of the antibody activity was to the cross-reacting antigens, 5 to 10% to type 1-specific antigens and little or no antibody to type 2-specific antigens. The observations suggest that infection by type 2 virus in patients with a prior type 1 infection results in an antibody response to the cross-reacting antigens with little or no response to the type-specific antigens.
mesh_terms: D000910:Antibodies, Heterophile / Q000032:analysis; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D000917:Antibody Formation; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D003429:Cross Reactions; D000939:Epitopes; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007156:Immunologic Memory; D008297:Male; D012008:Recurrence; D012306:Risk; D012703:Serotyping; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000910:Antibodies, Heterophile; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000939:Epitopes