Abstract:

Abstract:Objective To investigate the association between herpes virus infection and primary graft failure（PGF）after penetrating keratoplasty（PKP）in naive rabbits. Methods Animal model of herpes virus latency was established in rabbit eyes.PKP was performed in only one eye in two groups.In group A,seven naive rabbit eyes received latent donor,while seven latent rabbit eyes received naive donor in group B.The cornea was observed with slit lamp at 3,5,7,14 and 28 d after PKP respectively.Cornea swabs  were taken and detected for DNA of four viruses,including herpes simplex type 1 （HSV-1）,herpes simplex virus type 2 ( HSV-2),cytomegalovirus (CMV) and varicella-zoster virus (VZV) by multiplex PCR.Results Two eyes in group A (2/5,28.6%) were suffered PGF at 5 and 28 d after PKP, respectively.HSV-1 and VZV DNAs were detected by multiplex PCR from cornea swabs,grafts,rims and trigeminal ganglions (TGs),but HSV-2 and CMV were not detected.The cornea graft of remain 5 eyes in group A (5/7,71.4%) and 7 eyes in group B （7/7，100%） were clear until 28 d after PKP.The multiplex PCR results of cornea swabs were negative. Conclusion The herpes virus infection of cornea donor is the main factor of PGF after PKP.Compare to HSV-2 and CMV,the rabbit cornea is more easily infected by HSV-1 and VZV.The latent viruses in donor can be reactivated by PKP,and PGF is probably caused by VZV besides HSV-1.

Key words: simplexvirus;keratoplasty, penetrating;multiplex PCR;primary graft failure