1. Increased Cell-Mediated Immune Responses in Patients with Recurrent Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Meningitis
- Author
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Tomas Bergström, Kristina Franck, Hans Gaines, Elisabeth Franzen-Röhl, Klas Kärre, Maria Lagrelius, Danika Schepis, Jan-Åke Liljeqvist, Louise Berg, Elisabeth Aurelius, and Petra Jones
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,Microbiology (medical) ,Herpesvirus 2, Human ,T-Lymphocytes ,viruses ,T cell ,Clinical Biochemistry ,Immunology ,Gene Expression ,Alpha interferon ,Biology ,medicine.disease_cause ,Immune system ,Recurrence ,medicine ,Humans ,Immunology and Allergy ,Immunity, Cellular ,Innate immune system ,Toll-Like Receptors ,Herpes Simplex ,Dendritic Cells ,Dendritic cell ,Middle Aged ,medicine.disease ,Meningitis, Viral ,Virology ,Killer Cells, Natural ,Herpes simplex virus ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Cytokines ,Female ,Cytokine secretion ,Microbial Immunology ,Meningitis - Abstract
The clinical picture of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection includes genital blisters and less frequently meningitis, and some individuals suffer from recurrent episodes of these manifestations. We hypothesized that adaptive and/or innate immune functional deficiencies may be a major contributing factor in susceptibility to recurrent HSV-2 meningitis. Ten patients with recurrent HSV-2 meningitis were studied during clinical remission. For comparison, 10 patients with recurrent genital HSV infections as well as 21 HSV-seropositive and 19 HSV-seronegative healthy blood donors were included. HSV-specific T cell blasting and cytokine secretion were evaluated in whole blood cultures. HSV-2-induced NK cell gamma interferon production, dendritic cell Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression, and TLR agonist-induced alpha interferon secretion were analyzed. Patients with recurrent HSV-2 meningitis had elevated T cell blasting and Th1 and Th2 cytokine production in response to HSV antigens compared to those of patients with recurrent genital infections. A somewhat increased NK cell response, increased dendritic cell expression of TLR3 and -9, and increased TLR-induced alpha interferon responses were also noted. Contrary to our expectation, recurrent HSV-2 meningitis patients have increased HSV-specific adaptive and innate immune responses, raising the possibility of immune-mediated pathology in the development of recurrent HSV2 meningitis.
- Published
- 2011