Limited Antibody-Dependent Cellular Cytotoxicity Antibody Response Induced by a Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Subunit Vaccine

The humoral response to a herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 2 subunit vaccine containing recombinant glycoproteins B (gB 2 ) and D (gD 2 ) was tested in 3 groups of patients. These included HSV-seronegative, HSV-1-seropositive, and HSV-2-seropositive individuals. There were excellent antibody responses, as measured by gB 2 - and gD 2 -specific ELISAs and HSV-2 neutralization assays. However, in 2 HSV-2 antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) assays, there were relatively low antibody responses, especially among HSV-seronegative individuals. The low ADCC responses may be associated with the poor efficacy of this vaccine observed in clinical trials.