EFFICACY OF HSV-1 ISCOM VACCINE IN THE GUINEA-PIG MODEL OF HSV-2 INFECTION

The capability of a herpes simplex virus (HSV)-1 ISCOM vaccine to protect against intravaginal HSV-2 challenge infection in guinea-pigs is described. The protective efficacy of the HSV-1 ISCOM vaccine is compared with that of a purified, aqueous HSV-1 antigen preparation administered using a similar immunization schedule. The results show that female guinea-pigs immunized with two doses of HSV-1 ISCOM vaccine, each consisting of 20-mu-g of protein given 2 weeks apart responded with high ELISA and neutralization antibody titres, and are almost completely protected against the clinical effects of intravaginal challenge with 10(5.2) TCID50 of HSV-2. This cross-protection is significantly greater than that observed in guinea-pigs immunized with a single dose of HSV-1 ISCOM vaccine, two doses of aqueous HSV-1 antigen preparation or two doses of a mock ISCOM vaccine. However, none of the vaccine preparations completely prevented HSV-2 replication following challenge. Western blot and radioimmunoprecipitation of sera from immunized guinea-pigs show the HSV-1 ISCOM vaccine preparation to contain the major HSV-1 glycoproteins. These findings are discussed in relation to the value and potential use of HSV-1 ISCOM vaccine in humans.