title: In vitro susceptibility of newborn murine retinal cells to herpes simplex virus type 1 infection.
abstract: We have investigated the in vitro susceptibility of murine neural retinal cells to infection by herpes simplex virus Type 1 (HSV-1). Retinal cells obtained from newborn C57B1/6 mice were cultured for 6 days and infected with varying doses of HSV-1. Infection was determined by ABC immunoperoxidase staining of fixed cultures for HSV-1 antigens. Retinal neurons, including amacrine cells, were highly susceptible to infection, with 100% of the multipolar neurons expressing viral antigens after 12 hr of infection. Glial cells and retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells also were 100% infected within 12-16 hr. Photoreceptor infection was not as fast, but all surviving photoreceptor cells and their precursors became infected by 24-48 hr postinoculation. Since embryonic chick photoreceptors are highly resistant to HSV-1, these results demonstrate that mammalian (murine) photoreceptor cells differ from avian photoreceptor cells in their susceptibility to in vitro HSV-1 infection. In addition, our current results suggest that the in vivo resistance of adult C57B1/6 mice to herpetic retinitis may not reside at the level of the individual retinal cell populations, although apparent differences in susceptibility exist among the various retinal cell subpopulations.
authors.affiliation: Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Merges
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Whittum-Hudson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D000956:Antigens, Viral / Q000276:immunology; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004198:Disease Susceptibility; D005136:Eye Proteins; D006561:Herpes Simplex / Q000276:immunology*; D007124:Immunoenzyme Techniques; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010857:Pigment Epithelium of Eye / Q000276:immunology; D012160:Retina / Q000276:immunology*; D012177:Retinol-Binding Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D018139:Simplexvirus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology; D014779:Virus Replication; D000099214:Retinol-Binding Proteins, Interstitial
chemical_list: D000956:Antigens, Viral; D005136:Eye Proteins; D012177:Retinol-Binding Proteins; D000099214:Retinol-Binding Proteins, Interstitial