Estimation of the B Lymphocyte Precursor Frequencies to Herpes Simplex Type 1 Glycoproteins by a Limiting Dilution Assay

The precursor frequency of B lymphocytes from Balb/c mice producing HSV-1 glycoprotein B (gB), glycoprotein C (gC), and glycoprotein D (gD) antibody was determined by limiting dilution analysis under conditions to detect antibody from the clonal progeny of a single B cell precursor. In spleens of naive mice the average gC frequency was 1/48,917 +/- 5,550, while gD was 1/73,330 +/- 15,898, and gB frequency was in excess of 1/100,000. Immunization with live HSV-1 (KOS) increased the B cell frequencies of all three glycoproteins to approximately 1:3,000; however, the serum gB antibody ELISA titer was fivefold higher than gC or gD.