Interleukin-12 redirects murine immune responses to soluble or aluminum phosphate adsorbed HSV-2 glycoprotein D towards Th1 and CD4+ CTL responses

The type of immune response elicited against HSV-2 infection may be a factor in the frequency and severity of recurrent disease, with non-recurrent status being associated with a Th1-like response. As administration of glycoprotein D subunit formulated with an aluminum-based adjuvant induces predominantly Th2-like immune responses, we sought to assess the ability of IL-12 to redirect anti-HSV immunity towards a Th1 response. Co-administration of gD with IL-12 resulted in gD-specific antibody subclass switching from predominantly IgG1 observed in mice immunized with either gD or gD/AlPO4 to a more balanced combination of IgG1 and IgG2a, and enhanced virus neutralizing activity. Spleen cells from mice immunized with gD and IL-12, and restimulated in vitro with HSV-2, developed into effector cells capable of secreting IFN-gamma and lysing HSV-2 infected targets, while those obtained from gD or gD/ALPO4 immunized mice did not express lytic activity. In vitro studies determined that these CTLs were CD4+ and that the cytotoxicity was primarily perforin dependent. Vaginal challenge with HSV-2 demonstrated that IL-12 co-administration with gD resulted in increased efficacy of this vaccine as compared to administration of gD antigen alone. This acquired protection persisted up to 1 year. Finally, adsorbing gD and IL-12 to AlPO4 decreased the optimal dose of IL-12 required to enhance gD immunogenicity and shift responses towards a Th1-like profile.