Ocular disease induced in mice by anterior chamber inoculation of herpes simplex virus.

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) inoculated directly into the anterior chamber of the mouse eye induced an acute inflammatory process in both the injected eye and its uninjected (contralateral) counterpart. In the former, a rapid intense inflammatory reaction developed in the anterior segment (cornea, anterior chamber) and anterior portion of the uveal tract (iris and ciliary body). The retina of the injected eye was spared. In contrast, in the uninjected eyes, a delayed massive destructive reaction also developed, but was limited almost exclusively to the posterior segment ( vitreous, retina and choroid); retinas of the uninjected eyes were destroyed completely. When HSV-1 was inoculated bilaterally into both anterior chambers, destructive inflammatory responses developed in both corneas and anterior segments, but the retinas were spared bilaterally. These results indicate that (1) a unique and interesting pattern of bilateral ocular disease occurs after uniocular anterior chamber injection of HSV-1 in mice; (2) the distribution of the destructive lesions differs between the injected eye and its uninjected counterpart; and (3) local factors, perhaps produced within the eye itself, modify the progression of the virus-induced reaction within the globe.