Herpesvirus Infection, Experimental, Eye, Mouse

Abstract

Following inoculation of herpes simplex virus, type 1, KOS strain (HSV-1), into the anterior chamber of one eye of a BALB/c mouse, an interesting pattern of bilateral ocular disease is observed. In the injected eye, there is massive inflammation of the anterior segment which results in the loss of the anterior chamber and destruction of the associated anterior segment structure (iris, ciliary body). The posterior segment of the inoculated eye remains relatively uninvolved in the inflammatory process and exhibits only mild inflammation of the vitreous chamber with preservation of the retinal architecture. In contrast, the uninoculated eye displays the opposite pattern of disease; the retina of this eye is destroyed while the anterior segment is preserved (Whittum et al. 1984). Two temporally distinct waves of virus are recovered from the uninoculated eye.