Effect of Corynebacterium granulosum immunopotentiation on the pathogenesis of herpes simplex virus type 2 in BALB/c mice.
Treatment of 4- to 6-week-old, 18- to 22-g male BALB/c mice with 0.6 mg of Corynebacterium granulosum resulted in a significant decrease in mortality due to challenge with herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Optimal protection occurred when C. granulosum  was injected 1 week before HSV-2 infection. C. granulosum-induced resistance to HSV-2 lasted up to 4.5 weeks. Studies involving immune spleen cell transfer and treatment with antilymphocyte serum demonstrated the importance of cell-mediated immunity in HSV-2 infection. However, C. granulosum protection was not transferable with spleen cells from C. granulosum-treated animals nor was C. granulosum treatment capable of completely overcoming the increased mortality which resulted from antilymphocyte serum treatment of HSV-2 infected mice. Under our experimental conditions, silica did not affect the mortality in BALB/c mice due to HSV-2 but significantly reduced the protective effects induced by C. granulosum. Attempts to transfer protection of HSV-2 challenge in suckling mice by using either glass-adherent or mixed peritoneal cells from either HSV-2-immunized or C. granulosum-treated animals were unsuccessful.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000276:immunology; D003352:Corynebacterium / Q000276:immunology*; D007106:Immune Sera; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007114:Immunization; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000276:immunology; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D013154:Spleen / Q000276:immunology / Q000637:transplantation
D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D007106:Immune Sera; D012822:Silicon Dioxide