Delayed hypersensitivity to herpes simplex virus: murine model.

Cell-mediated immunity has been shown to be clinically important in recovery from herpes simplex virus (HSV) infections. To investigate the role of delayed hypersensitivity (DH) in immunity and protection against HSV, we developed a murine model using the ear-swelling assay. Mice were infected subcutaneously with HSV-1 and ear-challenged, and the swelling was quantified. Significant ear swelling was detected by 3 to 4 days postinfection and peaked at 6 days. The kinetics of development of ear swelling were typical of DH: maximal swelling occurred 24 h post challenge and was diminished by 48 h, and the cellular infiltrate was predominantly mononuclear. Four-hour swelling, indicative of antibody-mediated, immediate-type hypersensitivity, was not detected until 15 days post immunization. The DH response was virus specific and could be transferred to normal recipients with lymph node T cells, but not with B cells or immune serum. This system will provide a useful model for evaluating the protective role of DH in HSV infection and for studying the specificity and interaction of T cells which mediate the response.