Two paths for dissemination of Herpes simplex virus from infected trigeminal ganglion to the murine cornea.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV) was introduced into the mouse trigeminal ganglion by stereotaxic injection. We examined the form in which the virus was transported anterograde within axons and the spread of virus to glial and endoneurial cells of the nerve using EM immunocytochemistry. Our results indicate that viral dissemination in the trigeminal nerve may occur both within the axon and in the extracellular space of the endoneurium. HSV is intraaxonally transported at least in part as a nucleocapsid, i.e., with neither viral envelope nor additional cellular membranes. Schwann cells are infected as a result of spread in the endoneurium, as well as by nearby axons.