Anti-glycoprotein D antibodies that permit adsorption but block infection by herpes simplex virus 1 prevent virion-cell fusion at the cell surface.

Certain monoclonal antibodies specific for glycoprotein D of herpes simplex virus have potent neutralizing activity but fail to block attachment of virus to cells. Here we have investigated the fate of neutralized and infectious virus after attachment to primate cells. Infectious virions fused with the cell surface such that naked nucleocapsids were detectable in the cytoplasm near or just under the plasma membrane. Neutralized virions did not fuse with the cell. They remained attached to the cell surface and could be rendered infectious by treatment with polyethylene glycol. We conclude that some anti-glycoprotein D neutralizing antibodies can inhibit the penetration of herpes simplex virus by blocking fusion of the virion envelope with the plasma membrane. These results identify a pathway of entry that initiates successful herpes simplex virus infection and a step in this pathway that is highly sensitive to neutralizing antibodies. A role for glycoprotein D in virion-cell fusion is indicated.