Lipofuscin in rabbit skin: Its occurrence after ocular herpes simplex infection.

Systemic infection, induced by intraocular inoculation of type 1 herpes simplex virus (HSV 1) in young rabbits, is accompanied by the appearance of autofluorescent pigments precisely in the midportion of their fur follicles. Histochemical and solubility reactions of the pigment led to its characterization as a lipofuscinlike pigment. Follicle fluorescence correlated with the severity of clinical symptoms; it was present in 100% of the follicles of rabbits that died but was found in only 30% to 50% of follicles of surviving animals. Similar fluorescence was also present in 10% to 20% of the follicles of uninfected rabbits. This autofluorescent material may be formed by the peroxidation of lipids from sebaceous gland secretions, but neither HSV 1 nor antigens could be found in the skin as possible initiators of this reaction.