Participation of three major glycoprotein antigens of herpes simplex virus type 1 early in the infectious cycle as determined by antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity.

Tissue culture cells infected with herpes simplex virus type 1 synthesize three major glycoprotein antigens (Ag-11, Ag-8, and Ag-6), which have been characterized by crossed immunoelectrophoresis. The three viral antigens have been identified as a mixture of gA and gB (Ag-11), gD (Ag-8), and gC (Ag-6). Recent findings have shown that antibodies directed to each of the three antigens individually are able to mediate antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity when tissue culture cells late in the infectious cycle (18 h postinfection) are used. In this work, antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity was applied to study the time postinfection at which the individual viral antigens first made their appearance at the cell surface. All three viral antigens (Ag-11, Ag-8, and Ag-6) could be demonstrated as newly synthesized from 3 to 4 h postinfection, and the quantities of the antigens at the surfaces of the infected cells increased with time postinfection. The use of cycloheximide and ultraviolet-inactivated virus demonstrated that input virus could be detected by antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity during the first 2 h postinfection, but the cytotoxicity caused by input virus remained constant with time postinfection. In conclusion, these observations demonstrate the participation of individual herpes simplex virus surface antigens in antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity attack on cells early in infection.