Experimental model for activation of genital herpes simplex virus.

We have been actively studying herpesvirus latency and the effect of antiviral agents on latent infections in vivo and in vitro. To establish a model of recurrent herpetic genital disease, we treated latently infected C57Bl/6 mice with immunosuppressive agents. Mice were injected intraperitoneally with cyclophosphamide and antilymphocyte serum and then were examined for reactivated virus or recurrent lesions. When latently infected mice were subjected to immunosuppression, neither recurrent lesions nor virus was detected at the site of primary infection. However, when mice were selected for immunosuppressive treatment by the presence of postinfection scars, recurrent disease was induced. The results point to the significance of local factors in the pathogenicity of recurrent herpetic genital disease in mice.