Herpetic stromal keratitis in mice: less reversibility in the presence of Langerhans cells in the central cornea.

Infection on the snout with HSV-1 in mice with normal corneas produced a mild ocular disease, characterized by a zosteriform skin lesion around the eye, enlargement of the pupil, hyperemia of the iris and, sporadically, transient keratitis. By contrast, snout infection after prior cauterization of the cornea induced significantly more frequent and more severe corneal disease, in which keratitis was usually permanent. Corneal cauterization also produced increased numbers of Langerhans cells in the central cornea. We speculate that the combination of virus and increased numbers of Langerhans cells within the cornea may lead to an exaggerated ocular immune response that is destructive to the cornea.