Comparison of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity and complement-dependent antibody lysis of herpes simplex virus-infected cells as methods of detecting antiviral antibodies in human sera

An antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) assay was used to detect antibodies to the herpes simplex viruses in humans sera. The assay utilized the release of 51Cr from BHK-21 cells infected with the viruses, hamster peritoneal exudate cells as effector cells, and antiviral antibodies in human sera. The technique was found to be far more sensitive than complement-dependent antibody lysis of infected cells and virus neutralization. The ADCC assay was useful in detecting antibodies in sera that had low titers or no antibodies detectable by other methods. In a sample of 100 sera from university students, 40 were positive by complement-dependent lysis whereas 73 were positive by ADCC. Of 400 sera from women with cervical cancer, 17 did not have detectable antibodies by microneutralization or complement-dependent lysis; however, all sera were positive by ADCC, suggesting that all of the women had been infected in the past with one or both types of herpes simplex virus.