Protection of mice from fatal herpes simplex virus type 1 infection by adoptive transfer of cloned virus-specific and H-2-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

A cloned culture of secondary anti-herpes simplex virus (anti-HSV) cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) generated in vitro when adoptively transferred to intact or cyclophosphamide (CP) pretreated syngeneic mice protected the recipients from death following intraperitoneal infection with HSV-1. This in vivo protective effect conferred by anti-HSV CTL was virus-specific and H-2K/D-restricted. Twenty-four h after HSV-1 infection of BALB/c mice (intact or CP-pretreated) relatively high levels of serum interferon-gamma were observed in the recipients of syngeneic anti-HSV CTL and this event may explain, at least in part, the CTL-mediated protective effect.