This report describes the glycoproteins of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and their role as immunogens and discusses the relevance of studies of VZV to the selection of a glycoprotein subunit herpes simplex virus (HSV) vaccine. HSV types 1 and 2 and VZV are alpha-herpesviruses, which are characterized by common biologic features such as a relatively short replication cycle and a latent state, often in neurologic tissues. The three viruses also conserve several glycoprotein genes, including gB, gC, gE, gH, and gI. The known properties of the VZV glycoproteins closely resemble those of their homologous HSV counterparts and may provide further insight into biologic functions of the immunogens. In particular, VZV glycoproteins gpII and gpIII closely resemble their HSV homologs gB and gH in that all four harbor complement-independent neutralization epitopes.