Corneal buttons obtained from patients with HSK harbor high copy numbers of the HSV genome.
OBJECTIVE
To detect herpes simplex virus (HSV) genome in the cornea, we sampled the limbal corneas and scleras of the imported eye bank eyes and recipient's corneal buttons and quantitated HSV genome in them by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR).


METHODS
Forty-four recipient corneas including 7 corneas with and 37 corneas without a history of herpetic keratitis, 70 eye bank donor limbal corneas, and 35 eye bank donor scleras were obtained. Primers for real-time PCR were synthesized using the HSV-1 and -2 common regions of the viral DNA polymerase. Primers for conventional PCR were designed to detect HSV-1 and -2 and varicella zoster virus (VZV).


RESULTS
Significantly higher copy number of HSV DNA was detected in corneas with a history of herpetic keratitis 85.7% (6/7), with an average of 1.6 x 10(4) copies/mg tissue weight than in corneas without a history of herpetic keratitis 10.8% (4/37), with an average of 8.7 copies/mg tissue weight (P < 0.05, Mann-Whitney U test). HSV DNA was detected in 5.7% (4/70) of the eye bank donor corneas, with an average of 4.9 x 10(2) copies/mg tissue weight, and in 8.6% (3/35) of the donor scleras, with an average of 10.6 copies/mg tissue weight. HSV-2 and VZV-DNA were not detected in these samples.


CONCLUSIONS
Real-time PCR quantitated HSV genome in the cornea even at a quiescent phase of infection. HSV genome was detected in the corneas and scleras without a past history of herpetic keratitis by this method.
Shimomura
Yoshikazu
Y
Department of Ophthalmology, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osaka-Sayama, Japan. yoshis@med.kindai.ac.jp
Deai
Tatsunori
T
Fukuda
Masahiko
M
Higaki
Shiro
S
Hooper
Laura C
LC
Hayashi
Kozaburo
K
D003315:Cornea / Q000821:virology*; D016039:Corneal Transplantation; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000032:analysis*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D018628:Gene Dosage; D016679:Genome, Viral; D018259:Herpesvirus 1, Human / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D016849:Keratitis, Herpetic / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery / Q000821:virology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014019:Tissue Donors; D016896:Treatment Outcome
D004279:DNA, Viral