Infection by Herpes simplex virus (HSV) has been associated with cervical cancers. In addition, neonatal infection by HSV is oftentimes fatal. The currently recommended procedures for screening pregnant females in the high-risk category (i.e., history of active or recurrent HSV infection) include weekly virus cultures. These procedures are costly, time-consuming, and relatively insensitive. In contrast, a reliable and rapid immunocytological test employing monoclonal antibodies for detecting HSV-infected cells in cervical smears could be carried out at a considerable cost saving. The Phase I effort will emphasize the development and selection of suitable monoclonal antibodies for detecting expression of HSV gene products and for differentiating between infection by HSV-1 and HSV-2. In vitro virus-infected cells will be employed for selecting type-specific and cross-reactive monoclonal antibodies and for establishing optimal conditions for cell fixation and staining (i.e., immunofluorescence or immunoperoxidase). The Phase II effort will concentrate on establishing the efficacy of the test using clinical specimens and correlating the results with parallel efforts to isolate virus in cell culture and determining the HSV antibody profile of the donor.National Cancer Institute (NCI)
