Purpose: To determine the specific immune responses involved in the exacerbation of corneal scarring induced by HSV-1 in gK vaccinated mice.
Materials and methods: BALB/c mice were vaccinated with HSV-1 glycoprotein K (gK) and ocularly challenged with HSV-1. Infiltration into the cornea of T cells and macrophages was monitored by immunocytochemistry, and the effect of depletion of CD4+ T-cells, CD8+ T-cells, or macrophages on corneal scarring was determined.
Results: Following ocular challenge, CD4+ and CD8+ T-cells and macrophages were more abundant in the corneas of gK-vaccinated mice than in the corneas of mock vaccinated mice. Depletion of CD8+ T-cells, but not of CD4+ T-cells or macrophages, reduced the severity of corneal scarring in gK-vaccinated mice.
Conclusions: We have shown that gK vaccination causes an overall increase in T cells and macrophages in the cornea after ocular HSV-1 challenge. The immunopathology induced by gK vaccination appears to be related to CD8+ T-cell activity, as depletion of these cells, but not other immune cells, reduced corneal scarring.