Pseudomonas eye infections in cyclophosphamide-treated mice.

Swiss-Webster mice challenged intracorneally with varying doses of P. aeruginosa exhibit eye infection within 24 hr. as detected by corneal opacity. The infection remains localized and spontaneously heals within 4 to 6 weeks. However, when mice are pretreated with a single i.p. injection of cyclophosphamide 4 days prior to either intracorneal or anterior-chamber challenge with various bacterial cell suspensions (10(1) to 10(8)), 83% of the anterior chamber and 54% of the intracorneally challenged mice (most at higher dilutions of the bacteria) died of Pseudomonas septicemia within 48 hr. Corneal damage was histochemically and ultrastructurally observed in surviving animals by 24 to 48 hr. following challenge by either route.