Long-term presence of virus-specific plasma cells in sensory ganglia and spinal cord following intravaginal inoculation of herpes simplex virus type 2

The tissue sites of long-term herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2)-specific antibody production in mice and guinea pigs were identified. In addition to secondary lymphoid tissue and bone marrow, HSV-specific plasma cells were detected in spinal cords of mice up to 10 months after intravaginal inoculation with a thymidine kinase-deficient HSV-2 strain and in lumbosacral ganglia and spinal cords of guinea pigs inoculated with HSV-2 strain MS. The long-term retention of virus-specific plasma cells in the peripheral and central nervous systems following HSV infection may be important for resistance to reinfection of neuronal tissues or may play a role in modulation of reactivation from latency.