Therapeutic prime/pull vaccination of HSV-2-infected guinea pigs with the ribonucleotide reductase 2 (RR2) protein and CXCL11 chemokine boosts antiviral local tissue-resident and effector memory CD4
+
and CD8
+
T cells and protects against recurrent genital herpes
Authors: Quadiri Afshana , Prakash Swayam , Dhanushkodi Nisha Rajeswari , Singer Mahmoud , Zayou Latifa , Shaik Amin Mohammed , Sun Miyo , Suzer Berfin , Lau Lauren Su Lin , Chilukurri Amruth , Vahed Hawa , Schaefer Hubert , BenMohamed Lbachir 
Published: April 2024

Following acute herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) infection, the virus undergoes an asymptomatic latent infection of sensory neurons of dorsal root ganglia (DRG). Chemical and physical stress cause intermittent virus reactivation from latently infected DRG and recurrent virus shedding in the genital mucosal epithelium causing genital herpes in symptomatic patients. While T cells appear to play a role in controlling virus reactivation from DRG and reducing the severity of recurrent genital herpes, the mechanisms for recruiting these T cells into DRG and the vaginal mucosa (VM) remain to be fully elucidated. The present study investigates the effect of CXCL9, CXCL10, and CXCL11 T-cell-attracting chemokines on the frequency and function of DRG- and VM-resident CD4
+
and CD8
+
T cells and its effect on the frequency and severity of recurrent genital herpes in the recurrent herpes guinea pig model. HSV-2 latent-infected guinea pigs were immunized intramuscularly with the HSV-2 ribonucleotide reductase 2 (RR2) protein (
Prime
) and subsequently treated intravaginally with the neurotropic adeno-associated virus type 8 expressing CXCL9, CXCL10, or CXCL11 chemokines to recruit CD4
+
and CD8
+
T cells into the infected DRG and VM (
Pull
). Compared to the RR2 therapeutic vaccine alone, the RR2/CXCL11 prime/pull therapeutic vaccine significantly increased the frequencies of functional tissue-resident and effector memory CD4
+
and CD8
+
T cells in both DRG and VM tissues. This was associated with less virus in the healed genital mucosal epithelium and reduced frequency and severity of recurrent genital herpes. These findings confirm the role of local DRG- and VM-resident CD4
+
and CD8
+
T cells in reducing virus shedding at the vaginal site of infection and the severity of recurrent genital herpes and propose the novel prime-pull vaccine strategy to protect against recurrent genital herpes.

IMPORTANCE

The present study investigates the novel prime/pull therapeutic vaccine strategy to protect against recurrent genital herpes using the latently infected guinea pig model. In this study, we used the strategy that involves immunization of herpes simplex virus type 2-infected guinea pigs using a recombinantly expressed herpes tegument protein-ribonucleotide reductase 2 (RR2; prime), followed by intravaginal treatment with the neurotropic adeno-associated virus type 8 expressing CXCL9, CXCL10, or CXCL11 T-cell-attracting chemokines to recruit T cells into the infected dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and vaginal mucosa (VM) (pull). We show that the RR2/CXCL11 prime-pull therapeutic vaccine strategy elicited a significant reduction in virus shedding in the vaginal mucosa and decreased the severity and frequency of recurrent genital herpes. This protection was associated with increased frequencies of functional tissue-resident (T
RM
cells) and effector (T
EM
cells) memory CD4
+
and CD8
+
T cells infiltrating latently infected DRG tissues and the healed regions of the vaginal mucosa. These findings shed light on the role of tissue-resident and effector memory CD4
+
and CD8
+
T cells in DRG tissues and the VM in protection against recurrent genital herpes and propose the prime-pull therapeutic vaccine strategy in combating genital herpes.