title: Defective production of antibody to herpes simplex virus in neonates: defective production of T helper lymphokine and induction of suppression.
abstract: Defective production of antibodies to herpes simplex virus (HSV) and low resistance to HSV infection in neonatal mice could be reconstituted by using macrophages from syngeneic adult mice plus concanavalin A-stimulated supernatants prepared from adult mouse spleen cells or adult human peripheral blood lymphocytes. In each supernatant, interleukin-2 (IL-2) produced by T helper cells (positive for Lyt 1.2 or OKT4) was necessary to provide reconstitution. Supernatants from neonatal mice failed to mediate reconstitution because of an age-dependent absence of production of IL-2. Although supernatants from neonatal human cell cultures contained IL-2, they failed to reconstitute production of antibody to HSV and resistance to HSV infection because of a suppressor of IL-2 activity. Early antibody production and antibody-dependent cellular effector function are important defenses against HSV infection and are critically defective in the neonate.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D000920:Antibody-Dependent Cell Cytotoxicity; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003208:Concanavalin A / Q000494:pharmacology; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007376:Interleukin-2 / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007376:Interleukin-2; D003208:Concanavalin A