Objectives. Genital herpes simplex virus (HSV) infection is controlled by HSV-specific T cells in the genital tract, and the role of systemic T cell responses is not fully understood. Thus, we analysed T cell responses in patients with recurrent genital herpes (GH). Methods. T cell responses to HSV-1 and HSV-2 native antigens and the expression of HLA-DR and CD38 molecules on circulating CD8+ T cells were analysed in adults with high frequency of GH recurrences (19 patients) and low frequency of GH recurrences (7 patients) and 12 HSV-2 seronegative healthy controls. The study utilized the interferon-γ Elispot assay for measurement of spot-forming cells (SFC) after ex vivo stimulation with HSV antigens and flow cytometry for analysis of the expression of activation markers in unstimulated T cells. Results. The patients with high frequency of GH recurrences (mean number of recurrences of 13.3 per year) had significantly enhanced HSV-specific T cell responses than the HSV-2 seronegative healthy controls. Moreover, a trend of higher numbers of SFC was observed in these patients when compared with those with low frequency of GH recurrences (mean number of recurrences of 3.3 per year). Additionally, no differences in CD38 and HLA-DR expression on circulating CD8+ T cells were found among the study groups. Conclusions. Frequency of GH recurrences positively correlates with high numbers of systemic HSV-specific T cells.

中文翻译：

---

生殖器疱疹的频繁复发与增强的全身 HSV 特异性 T 细胞反应有关。

目标。生殖器单纯疱疹病毒 (HSV) 感染由生殖道中的 HSV 特异性 T 细胞控制，全身 T 细胞反应的作用尚不完全清楚。因此，我们分析了复发性生殖器疱疹 (GH) 患者的 T 细胞反应。方法。在 GH 复发率高（19 名患者）和 GH 复发率低（7患者）和 12 名 HSV-2 血清阴性健康对照。该研究利用干扰素-γElispot 测定法用于测量用 HSV 抗原进行离体刺激后的斑点形成细胞 (SFC)，流式细胞仪用于分析未刺激 T 细胞中活化标志物的表达。结果。与 HSV-2 血清阴性健康对照组相比，GH 复发率高的患者（平均每年 13.3 次复发）的 HSV 特异性 T 细胞反应显着增强。此外，与 GH 复发频率较低的患者相比（平均每年 3.3 次复发），在这些患者中观察到 SFC 数量增加的趋势。此外，在研究组之间没有发现循环 CD8+ T 细胞上 CD38 和 HLA-DR 表达的差异。结论. GH 复发的频率与大量全身 HSV 特异性 T 细胞呈正相关。