An experimental animal model of adenovirus-induced ocular disease. The cotton rat
J. C. Tsai, G. Garlinghouse, P. J. McDonnell and M. D. Trousdale
Department of Ophthalmology, University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles.
The adenoviruses are a common cause of eye disease in humans and clinically
cause three basic syndromes: epidemic keratoconjunctivitis,
pharyngo-conjunctival fever, and nonspecific follicular conjunctivitis.
Although many serotypes of the adenovirus have been implicated, types 8,
19, and 37 are associated most commonly with ocular disease. There has not
been a well-defined and reproducible animal model of this disease. The eyes
of cotton rats inoculated with either adenovirus type 5 or type 8 developed
clinical features similar to those seen in epidemic keratoconjunctivitis,
with subepithelial corneal opacities, seroconversion, and virus shedding.
The infectivity of adenovirus type 8 in a control animal illustrated the
highly contagious nature of the disease. We conclude that ocular
inoculation of at least some adenoviruses (ie, types 5 and 8) in the cotton
rat produces an in vivo model for the study of adenovirus-induced ocular
disease in humans.
