Specific cellular immunity in immunocompetent children with herpes zoster.
We investigated whether specific immunity is low in immunocompetent children with zoster. Specific cellular immunity was found to be significantly lower in 13 otherwise normal children with zoster than it was in 8 matched controls by a lymphoproliferative assay. However, there was no significant difference between them with regard to the antibody response. Therefore, even in the immunocompetent children, decreased specific cellular immunity may play an important role in the mechanism of virus reactivation.
Department of Paediatrics, Kawasaki Medical School, Okayama, Japan.
K
K
Terada
H
H
Tanaka
S
S
Kawano
N
N
Kataoka
D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D002644:Chickenpox / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006562:Herpes Zoster / Q000276:immunology*; D014645:Herpesvirus 3, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology*; D007121:Immunocompetence / Q000276:immunology*; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012016:Reference Values
D000914:Antibodies, Viral