Learning from HSV-infected mice as a model of Behçet's disease.

Several animal models of Behçet's disease (BD) have been proposed according to putative etiology. Among these models, the herpes simplex virus (HSV)-induced model produced the most similar disease attributes observe in patients. Inoculation of HSV type 1 to the scratched earlobe of mice produced the appropriate symptoms, including oral, genital, and skin ulcers, eye lesions, arthritis, and intestinal involvement. This HSV-induced BD model is the only continuously used model, to which various therapeutic modalities have been applied.