FIG. 1.

(A) Western blot analysis examining gC2 expression in HSV-2 wild-type- and gC2-null-infected cell extracts. The blot was probed with rabbit anti-gC2 antibody R81 or rabbit anti-VP5 as a loading control. (B to E) Neutralization of HSV-1 (NS) and HSV-2 (G, 333, and 2.12) wild-type and gC-null strains by NHS. Viruses were incubated with PBS as a control or NHS as the source of complement at the concentrations indicated for 1 h at 37°C. Results are expressed as PFU/ml (% of control) and were calculated as follows: (PFU with NHS/PFU with PBS) × 100. Results represent the mean titers ± standard deviations of four separate experiments for strain G and of three experiments for strains 333, 2.12, and NS. AUC comparing wild-type and gC-null viruses: P < 0.0001 for strain G, P < 0.002 for strain 333, P < 0.001 for strain 2.12, and P < 0.05 for strain NS.