Immunomodulation of experimental murine herpes simplex keratitis: I. UV-HSV protection.

A/J mice were immunized subcutaneously with ultraviolet light (UV) inactivated herpes simplex virus type-1, MP strain (HSV-MP). Control A/J mice were immunized subcutaneously either with media (unimmunized controls) or with live HSV-MP (immunized controls). Immunized and control mice were challenged ocularly with either MP or mP strain HSV-1 after corneal scarification and were followed for 3 weeks post corneal challenge. The mice were observed during this time period for signs of herpes simplex keratitis (HSK), lid lesions and encephalitis. At the time of sacrifice, the ipsilateral trigeminal ganglia were removed and assayed for latent HSV-1 using cocultivation on Vero cell monolayers. The results of these studies demonstrated that immunization with UV inactivated HSV (UV-HSV) gave the same protection against keratitis and encephalitis as immunization with live virus. Furthermore, the cocultivation assays indicated that immunization with either live HSV-1 or UV inactivated HSV-1 protected against the establishment of latency.