Replication of Herpes Simplex Virus in Human Peripheral T Lymphocytes

Abstract

SUMMARY Human peripheral lymphocytes were separated by the use of neuraminidase-treated sheep red blood cells into a population containing < 2% T cells (population B) and a population containing < 2% B cells (population T). Population T was able to replicate herpes simplex virus (HSV) after pre-stimulation with the T cell mitogens phytohaemagglutinin and concanavalin A, while population B was not. HSV also did not replicate in population B after pre-incubation with pokeweed mitogen. Our data strongly suggest that in human lymphocyte cultures HSV replicates in activated T cells. Since B cells after removal of T cells were not stimulated by pokeweed mitogen, it is not clear whether human peripheral blood B cells are unable to replicate HSV or whether they may do so only after adequate stimulation.