Figure 2. HSV-1 0ΔNLS induces lasting protection that prevents ocular pathology upon challenge.

Mice ocularly challenged with HSV-1 at 90 days post-vaccination as depicted in Fig. 1A were evaluated for latent virus, serostatus, and tissue pathology at day 30 post infection (PI). (A) Quantitative PCR analysis of HSV-1 genome copy number in the trigeminal ganglia (TG). (B) Serum neutralization titers recorded at day 30 PI. (C) Assessment of corneal sensation in vaccinated or naive mice surviving at day 30 PI using standard Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometry scoring. (D) Representative confocal images of corneal neovascularization in vaccinated and naive mice depicting CD31⁺ blood vessels (red) and Lyve-1⁺ lymphatic vessels (green) at 10× magnification. Dotted lines represent the anatomic limbal vessels circumscribing the normally avascular cornea; scale bar = 200 μm. (E) Representative anterior projection of SD-OCT images highlighting the cornea at day 30 PI in HSV-1 0ΔNLS and gD-2 immunized or naive mice. Data in panels A-C reflect mean ± SEM for 3–6 mice per group (6–12 corneas or total TG) with two independent experiments. Statistical differences were computed by one-way ANOVA using Student-Newman-Keuls multiple comparisons tests; asterisks reflect differences between the indicated groups. Images in panels D and E are representative of 5–9 corneas per group.