Characterization of herpes simplex virus type-1 infection and herpetic stromal keratitis development in IFN-gamma knockout mice

Abstract

Herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK) has an immune-mediated pathogenesis that involves T cells that have a type 1 cytokine profile. IFN-gamma is suspected to be the type 1 cytokine involved in ocular pathology, and to test this notion more directly the pathogenesis of HSK was compared in mice deficient in the IFN-gamma gene (gamma knockout or gko) and control mice (wild-type littermates or BALB/c mice). The clinical course of HSK in gko mice closely paralleled that in control mice, yet virus persisted in the corneas of gko mice for an extended period of time, severe periocular skin lesions developed, and gko mice were far more susceptible to encephalitis. Delayed-type hypersensitivity to viral Ag was present, though diminished, in knockout mice, and serum herpes simplex virus-specific IgG isotypes indicated a Th2 shift. No differences existed in proliferative responses to in vitro Ag stimulation in gko vs control mice nor in T cell or proinflammatory cytokine mRNA levels in the corneas of infected mice. However, up-regulation of Th2 cytokine mRNA did occur in in vitro Ag-stimulated gko immune splenocytes. Histopathologic lesions were not statistically different between any of the groups of mice analyzed. These observations indicate that although IFN-gamma plays an important role in the clearance of virus from the eye, the pathogenesis of HSK lesions most likely involves additional cytokines, inflammatory mechanisms, or immune responses to nonviral Ags.