title: Herpes simplex virus infection of the human eye induces a compartmentalized virus-specific B cell response.
abstract: Intraocular infection with herpes simplex virus (HSV) can cause uveitis, a potentially sight-threatening disease. The disease is characterized by an ocular infiltration of inflammatory cells such as macrophages and B and T cells. The characteristics of the local humoral and cellular immune responses elicited on intraocular HSV infection are poorly understood. The local HSV-specific antibody production, which are used routinely for confirmation of a clinical diagnosis of herpetic uveitis, has never been analyzed in detail. This study analyzed the humoral immune response against HSV type 1 (HSV-1) in paired samples of intraocular fluid and serum of patients with intraocular herpesvirus infection. In addition, the B cell epitope distribution on a single HSV-1 type-specific antigen, glycoprotein G, was compared for these paired samples. The results presented here indicate that the inflamed eyes of patients with HSV-induced uveitis display a compartmentalized B cell response directed toward the triggering virus.
authors.affiliation: Netherlands Ophthalmic Research Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. r.peek@amc.uva.nl
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Peek
authors.forename: Georges M G M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Verjans
authors.forename: Bob
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meek
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D001082:Aqueous Humor / Q000276:immunology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002648:Child; D018604:Epitope Mapping; D015828:Eye Infections, Viral / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D005260:Female; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000276:immunology / Q000821:virology; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014605:Uveitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; C050591:glycoprotein gG-1, herpes simplex virus type 1