Pathogenesis of Herpes Simplex Labialis. I. Replication of Herpes Simplex Virus in Cultures of Epidermal Cells from Subjects with Frequent Recurrences.

Primary cultures were established with epidermal cells from the skin of 11 patients with frequent episodes of herpes simplex labialis and 13 control subjects with titers of neutralizing antibody to herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 but no history of herpetic disease. Confluent monolayers were exposed to HSV type 1 strain E1l5, and the infection was monitored by assay of the rate of virus appearance in the culture medium. The mean slope of the virus growth curves ([log10 pfu/ml/log10 hr) was 9.0 in cultures from patients vs. 9.5 in cultures from controls, and the respective mean titers of virus 53 hr after infection were 106.8 and 106.5 (differences not statistically significant). Genetically controlled host factors may play some role in the clinical,response to HSV infection, but variation in the susceptibility of epidermal cells, the natural target for HSV, is not one of the critical determinants. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]