Inducing humoral immunoresponse against Herpes simple virus type-1 using the recombinant glycoprotein D virus in BALB/c mice

Herpes simple virus type-1 (HSV-1) is a member of the Herpesviridae family. This virus causes a wide range of infections including a symptomatic infections to lethal encephalitis in human beings. There are some 12 different proteins on the viral surface of which 10 are glycosylated. Glycoprotein D (gD) is one of the most important surface glycoprotein with high antigenecity and immunogenicity which induces a potent immunoresponse in the host. Because of similarities between nucleotide sequence of the gD-1 gene and that of the herpes simplex type-2 and even between strains of the HSV-1 therefore, it is regarded as a good candidate for production of recombinant vaccine against HSV-1. In this study baculovirus carrying whole gene sequence of gD-1 was first propagated in Sf9 cells and the infected cells were harvested and sonicated 4-5 days post inoculation. Cell extructs were analysed with SDS-PAGE electrophoresis after being checked for the amount of their protein contents. The electrophoresed proteins were then subjected to Western blotting and a positive result was obtained indicating the presence of the gD-1 in the extracts. Three week old BALB/c mice were inoculated with recombinant gD-1 to evaluate its immunogenicity. Control mice were also inoculated with PBS and sublethal dose of the virus. Three injections with 21 day intervals were given to each group and all mice were bled 21 day after the last injection. Virus neutralization test using sera collected from the mice was done and the results showed that the recombinant gD-1 could induce neutralizing antibody against HSV-1 in the test animals.