FIG. 2.
Viral titers from mice following progesterone treatment. Three groups of mice (n = 6) were given subcutaneous progesterone doses of 2, 1, or 0.5 mg/mouse. Vaginal smears were taken daily as described in Materials and Methods. Mice were inoculated intravaginally with 105 PFU of HSV-2 (strain 333) at estrus (▵) or diestrus (○). Vaginal washes were collected daily, and viral plaque assays were done as described in Materials and Methods. Plaques were counted and viral titers were expressed as PFU/milliliter. Geometric mean values are shown for each group. An asterisk indicates a value of >108 PFU, the upper detection limit of the assay. The dashed lines show the lower detection limit of the assay. Results are representative of three independent experiments with similar results.