Effect of immune serum on the establishment of herpes simplex virus infection in trigeminal ganglia of hairless mice.

Administration of immune serum to herpes simplex virus (HSV)-infected hairless mice could not prevent acute infection in the trigeminal ganglia and the eventual establishment of latency. However, immune serum reduced the amount of free virus in the ganglion during the acute phase of the infection. It appears also that the amount of virus that can be reactivated in the latently infected ganglion is decreased. This was indicated by a prolonged reactivation time and by a reduced virus content of ganglion homogenates prepared after various periods of cocultivation.