The proportion of galanin-immunoreactive neurons in mouse trigeminal ganglia is transiently increased following corneal inoculation of herpes simplex virus type-1.

To investigate whether neurobiological functions are modified by viral infection, we inoculated mouse corneas with herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and examined neuronal galanin content in trigeminal ganglia at selected survival times. HSV-1 antigen appeared in neurons at day 3, peaked at day 6 and disappeared by day 11. Increased galanin positivity was first seen at day 6, peaked at day 10 and approached control values by day 21. This result provides further evidence that the biological program of peripheral sensory neurons is modified by herpes-virus infection.