[Reactivation of latent virus in corneas of quiescent recurrent herpes simplex keratitis (HSK)].

By immunohistochemical staining, all 20 corneal half-buttons of HSK quiescent for 4-60 months obtained from 20 cases undergoing penetrating keratoplasties were found negative of HSV-1 antigen. The other 20 corneal half-buttons were cultured for 3-4 weeks and 18 of them (90%) were found HSV-1 antigen positive. The 20 reactivated corneal half-buttons were co-cultured for 1 week with primary rabbit kidney (RK) cells and cellular pathological lesions appeared in the RK cells in 3 cultures which were also HSV-1 antigen positive. These results demonstrated that the latent virus might have been harbored in the corneal cells to escape immunohistochemical detection. In the view point of immunopathology and virology, penetrating keratoplasy can be performed on patients with HSK quiescent over 3 months.