AN ANIMAL-MODEL OF OCULAR HERPES - KERATITIS, RETINITIS AND CATARACT IN THE MOUSE

Abstract

Acute ocular infection followed both intracerebral and intranasal inoculation of herpes simplex type 1 virus (HSV1) in mice. Eye infections were a terminal complication of fatal encephalitis. After intracerebral inoculation HSV 1 spread directly along the optic nerves to infect the retina provoking a necrotizing retinitis. In contrast after intranasal inoculation, HSV 1 spread via the 5th cranial nerve to the anterior chamber of the eye producing keratitis and uveitis. Necrotizing retinitis was also produced by intracerebral inoculation of mice with a drug-resistant mutant HSV1 known to have relatively low neurovirulence. These animals developed only mild encephalitis but this was associated with florid retinitis. The mice survived cerebral infection with the mutant virus and several wk after intitial inoculation cataracts were observed. There was no evidence, at any time, of virus infection of lens epithelium and cataracts appeared to be a nonspecific consequence of retinal injury. Evidently, these examples of murine ocular infection provide animal models for herpetic eye lesions in man and thus may elucidate the pathogenesis of herpetic keratitis, retinitis and cataract.