The sequential changes in substance P during acute herpetic keratitis in mice
Inoue, Y.; Sawai, S.; Watanabe, H.; Shimomura, Y.; Sasaoka, A.; Ohashi, Y.; Fukuda, M.; Manabe, R.
Nippon Ganka Gakkai Zasshi 91(11): 982-987
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 0029-0203 PMID: 2451405 Document Number: 303097
We investigated the sequential changes of substance P (SP), a neurotransmitter candidate of sensory nerve, during acute herpetic keratitis in mice by indirect immunofluorescence method and radioimmunoassay (RIA). In cornea, the SP-specific immunofluorescence of nerve fibers was slightly reduced intensity at the infected site on the second day postinfection (PI), being undetectable in the entire cornea on the 4th day PI. In trigeminal ganglia (TG), however, the Sp-specific immunofluorescence of nerve fibers and cell bodies was not affected. RIA studies revealed that the amount of SP in cornea was extremely reduced on the 4th day PI, on the other hand, TG of infected mice contained as much SP as those of controls at the times examined. These results suggest that the reduction of corneal sensitivity, which we often notice in patients with herpetic keratitis, might be related to the reduction of SP in the cornea.