FIG 2.
Topical treatment with prodigiosin suppresses corneal HSV-1 infection in mice. (A) Schematic representation of the in vivo experiment performed to analyze the antiviral efficacy of PG in BALB/c mice infected with HSV-1 strain McKrae at 105 PFU. The infected mice were topically treated with 5 μl of 2.5% DMSO (complexed with 10 mg/ml β-cyclodextrin), TFT (50 μM), and PG (50 μM, complexed with 10 mg/ml β-cyclodextrin). Treatment was performed three times a day until 7 dpi. (B) Representative pictures of infected eyes from different treatment groups. (C) Graph showing infection score based on visual observation. (D) Corneal sensitivity was measured using an esthesiometer, and the scores were recorded and plotted. (E) Representative micrographs of corneal histology sections, indicating corneal damage and infiltration of immune cells in corneas and extraocular tissue. (F) Graphs showing the secreted virus titers from eyewash samples collected from the infected eyes of different treatment groups on 2 and 4 dpi. Plaque assay was performed on Vero cells. Significance between the treatment and control groups was determined using the student unpaired t test.