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1 From the Department of Cellular and Structural Biology, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas; and the 2 Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta, Georgia.
| Abstract |
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METHODS. Fifty CG and 47 trigeminal ganglia (TG) were resected from 63 formalin-fixed cadavers between 56 and 98 years of age that had been embalmed within 12 hours of death. The donors had no known active HSV infection at the time of death. DNA was extracted from all ganglia by proteinase-K digestion (TG) or digestion by a mild lysis buffer (CG). DNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction for sequences from human chromosome 18, D18S1259 (positive control), and from the HSV-1 DNA polymerase gene, UL30. The amplified DNA was separated by agarose gel electrophoresis, transferred to nylon membranes, and hybridized with the appropriate digoxigenin-labeled probe that was detected by alkaline phosphatase-conjugated monoclonal antibody.
RESULTS. The D18S1259 sequence was amplified from 47 TG and 30 CG samples. Of these samples, 32 (68.0%) of the 47 TG samples and 20 (66.6%) of the 30 CG samples were positive for the UL30 HSV-1 sequence.
CONCLUSIONS. Using amplification of HSV-1 DNA as a surrogate marker of latency, the finding that the frequency of HSV-1 in the CG was approximately the same as that of the TG suggests that the CG may be an additional site of HSV-1 latency in humans. Active infection in or reactivation of HSV-1 from non-TG sites may explain why this virus is able to infect sites, such as the retina, that have no direct connections to the trigeminal nerve.
| Introduction |
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Several animal models have been developed that are applicable for investigating the pathogenesis of the ARN syndrome in human patients. Acute necrotizing retinitis, a disease that parallels the ARN syndrome in several ways, can be induced experimentally in animals by uniocular anterior chamber (AC) inoculation of HSV-1. In the mouse, uniocular AC inoculation of HSV-1 results in acute, virally mediated retinitis only in the uninoculated contralateral eye 8 to 10 days post inoculation (PI).8 9 Results from studies using rabbits inoculated with HSV-1 through the AC route indicate that HSV-1 gains access to the contralateral eye through the brain,10 a finding that was confirmed by tracing studies in the mouse to determine the route of virus spread from the AC of the injected eye to the retina of the uninoculated eye.11 Sequentially, the path of virus spread in the mouse involves the following synaptically connected sites: AC of the inoculated eye (day 0), ciliary ganglion (CG) ipsilateral to the site of injection (day 2 PI), ipsilateral Edinger-Westphal nucleus (day 3 PI), ipsilateral suprachiasmatic nucleus (day 5 PI), contralateral optic nerve and retina (day 7 PI).11 Although the contralateral suprachiasmatic nucleus becomes virus positive (day 7 PI), virus does not spread from the contralateral suprachiasmatic nucleus to the ipsilateral optic nerve and retina.11
Because the ARN syndrome in human patients and in animal models of HSV-1 ARN share several clinical manifestations, it has been suggested that the pattern of virus spread in humans may be similar to that observed in the mouse.5 12 HSV-1 DNA has been recovered from several sensory and autonomic ganglia in humans, including the trigeminal (TG), spinal, vestibular, geniculate, and superior cervical ganglia.13 14 15 16 17 However, information about the presence of HSV-1 in the CG, the ganglion that supplies postganglionic parasympathetic innervation to the anterior chamber, is unavailable. Because the CG, along with the TG and the trigeminal nerves, are the most likely to be involved in patients with herpes stromal keratitis who often have concomitant anterior uveitis, it was hypothesized that the CG may be a site of HSV-1 infection during acute infection and/or an additional site of latency after infection of sites synaptically connected to this ganglion. Reactivation of virus from this site followed by spread of virus into neuronal pathways synaptically connected to one or both optic nerves may be one mechanism by which ARN develops in humans. The purpose of these studies was to determine whether HSV-1 DNA is present in the CG of humans.
| Methods |
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TG were separated from the surrounding dura mater and resected by making cuts anterolateral to the opening to Meckels cave at the point where each of the three divisions (ophthalmic-V1, maxillary-V2, and mandibular-V3) branch from the ganglion. The CG, which measures approximately 1 x 2 mm, lies approximately 10 mm anterior to the optic foramen. This ganglion is located between the optic nerve and lateral rectus muscle and appears as a small swelling connected to the nasociliary nerve.18 19 Locating and identifying the CG was more difficult, owing to its small size and inconspicuous physical features with respect to the surrounding orbital tissue. Because its yellowish-brown appearance made it difficult to distinguish the CG from the surrounding adipose tissue, posterior illumination of the area near the CG was used to locate the ganglion, which appeared as a small, brown piece of tissue about the size of the point of a ballpoint pen in the center of a pad of yellow adipose tissue.18 Before removal, the identity of the CG was confirmed by locating both the proximal and distal nerve connections.
Preparation of TG and CG
The TG were washed with PBS, finely minced with sterile dissection blades, frozen in liquid nitrogen, placed in foil packets, and crushed with a mallet to ensure adequate surface area for homogenization of the tissue. After the TG were crushed, the tissue fragments were collected in a fresh, sterile vial for subsequent DNA extraction. Because of their small size, the CG samples were not crushed but instead were washed with PBS and suspended in embedding medium (OCT; Tissue-Tek; Sakura FineTek, Torrance, CA) in disposable vinyl specimen molds (Tissue-Tek Cryomold, Intermediate size; Sakura FineTek, Torrance, CA). After suspension, the samples were frozen at -70°C for at least 1 hour. To obtain fine pieces of CG samples, the frozen CG were sectioned using a cryostat, and the frozen sections were collected into new sterile vials.
Extraction of DNA from TG and CG
Cell lysates of TG samples were made using 200 µL of a solution containing (final concentrations) 100 µg/mL proteinase K (Roche Molecular Biochemicals, Indianapolis, IN), 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.4), 20 mM EDTA (pH 8.0), and 1.0% SDS. Samples were digested overnight in a 50°C water bath and then stored at -20°C. To purify TG DNA, the TG samples were extracted once with an equal volume of buffered saturated phenol (pH 7.497.79; GibcoBRL, Grand Island, NY)-chloroform-isoamyl alcohol (25:24:1) and then once with an equal volume of chloroform-isoamyl alcohol (24:1). After each extraction, the solutions were vortexed briefly and centrifuged at 3000g.
Because of the paucity of tissue present in the CG samples and the propensity for DNA loss during phenol extraction, the CG samples were not subjected to phenol extraction and ethanol precipitation. Instead, PCR was performed on CG cell lysates made using a one-step lysis buffer containing (final concentrations): 50 mM KCl, 10 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.3), 2.5 mM MgCl2, 0.1 mg/mL gelatin, 0.45% Nonidet (NP)-40, 0.45% Tween-20, and glass distilled water. Each CG sample was combined with 200 µL of the one-step lysis buffer, vortexed, and placed in boiling water for 10 minutes. Afterward, the CG samples were placed on ice for 5 minutes and subsequently stored at -20°C. The amount of DNA in the TG or CG samples was determined using a DNA minifluorometer (TKO 100; Hoefer Scientific Instruments, San Francisco, CA). The amount of DNA in the TG samples ranged between 71 and 133 ng. The amount of DNA in the CG samples ranged between 432 and 1000 ng.
Polymerase Chain Reaction
TG and CG samples were subjected to PCR amplification for human chromosome 18 (to ensure the amplifiability of the DNA) and for HSV-1 sequences. A human genomic primer set (Table 2)
was used to amplify a 150-bp sequence of human chromosome 18. Primers encoding a single-copy, noncoding region of chromosome 18, D18S1259 (sequences obtained from Robin Leach, Department of Cellular and Structural Biology) were constructed by the Center for Advanced DNA Technologies, UTHSCSA, San Antonio, Texas. The HSV-1 primer set (from the UL30 encoding the HSV-1 DNA polymerase; Table 2 ) used in the amplification of viral DNA from samples and controls resulted in a 90-bp product.20
The HSV-1 primer set did not amplify human CMV, murine CMV, varicella zoster virus, or Epstein-Barr virus DNA sequences. The minimum level of detection of the HSV-1 primer set was 20 pg (6083 copies) of HSV-1 DNA (not shown).
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PCR products from CG samples were separated electrophoretically in 1.5% agarose gels and PCR products from TG samples were separated in 4% 3:1 agarose gels (NuSieve Plus; FMC Bioproducts, Rockland, ME) containing 0.75 µg/mL ethidium bromide (GibcoBRL, Gaithersburg, MD) in 0.5x Tris-borate EDTA buffer (TBE; GibcoBRL). Gels were photographed and blotted to nylon membranes (Hybond-N+; Amersham Pharmacia Biotech, Piscataway, NJ). The identity of PCR products was confirmed by hybridization to digoxigenin-labeled probes. Before hybridization, the filters containing the bound DNA were soaked in a prehybridization solution (125.0 mL 20x SSC [final concentration, 5x], 5.0 g blocking reagent [final concentration 1.0% wt/vol; Roche Molecular Biochemicals], 0.5 g N-lauryl sarcosine [final concentration 0.1% wt/vol], 1.0 mL 10% SDS [final concentration 0.02%], and 368.5 mL glass-distilled water [GDW] at 42°C) for 1 hour. Afterward, the membranes were soaked overnight in this same solution to which 75 µL (1 µg/µL) of the appropriate (HSV-1 or D18S1259) digoxigenin-labeled probe was added. Both probes bound DNA sequences internal to the PCR primers, and both probes were labeled with digoxigenin-11-dUTP with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase. The membranes were washed, and the probes were allowed to bind to anti-digoxigenin-alkaline-phosphatase-conjugated monoclonal antibodies. Visualization of the labeled-probes bound to the target sequences of DNA was achieved using 75 mg/mL nitroblue tetrazolium salt (NBT) and 50 mg/mL 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl phosphate toluidine salt (BCIP; Sigma-Aldrich Co., St. Louis, MO).
| Results |
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Amplification of HSV-1 Sequences in TG and CG
Thirty-two (68.0%) of 47 TG samples and 20 (66.6%) of 30 CG samples were positive for the portion of the UL30 gene sequence amplified by the HSV-1 primers. HSV-1 hybridization results from representative TG samples are shown in Figure 3A
, and hybridization results from representative CG samples are shown in Figure 3B
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| Discussion |
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The design of primers to amplify the target DNA sequences was another critical determinant of the results of this investigation. To establish a primer set appropriate for the amplification of a control sequence, formalin-fixed human dorsal root ganglia were subjected to DNA extraction and amplification with several different sets of human genomic PCR primers. Ultimately, the primer set that yielded the best results on amplification (D18S1259) was the one that produced an amplification product of approximately 150 bp (not shown). This result is in agreement with a study of the effects of formalin fixation on the ability to extract DNA from preserved neuropathologic material in which Kosel and Graeber26 reported that, to increase DNA yield from PCR amplification, target amplification sequences should be shorter than 300 bp.
Although these results suggest that HSV-1 may be latent in CG, there are several caveats about this study that should be considered in interpretation of these results. First, information about seropositivity of the donors was not available; therefore, the percentage of HSV-1 DNA found in the samples cannot be compared with the premortem immune status of the donor. Second, it is possible that there was disease unaccounted for by the cause of death that may have had some effect on the ability of HSV-1 to infect and remain latent within these ganglia. For example, the donor could have had an undiagnosed HSV-1 infection at the time of his or her death. Third, in this study, it was assumed that the presence of HSV-1 DNA in these ganglia was a marker of a latent infection. The gold standard marker for HSV-1 latency, however, is detection of the latency-associated transcripts (LAT), mRNAs produced in latently infected neurons that play a role in the establishment and/or maintenance of the latent state.27 28 29 30 In these studies, the presence of HSV-1 in the TG or CG was presumed to be a surrogate marker for latency, because these tissues could not be evaluated for the presence of LAT. Therefore, conclusions about the percentage of latently infected ganglia must be made with caution. However, in a recent report in which PCR was used to quantify the number of HSV-1 (and varicella-zoster virus) genomes in unfixed human trigeminal ganglia, the presence of viral DNA was equated with ganglionic latency.31 Therefore, the presence of viral DNA is also likely to equate with latency in these studies. Finally, the percentage of ganglia positive for HSV-1 sequences may be underestimated in formalin-fixed cadaveric material because of the fixation process. However, it is likely that the fixation process would result in a similar amount of DNA cross-linking and/or DNA damage in all samples.
Among studies performed in which unfixed TG samples collected at autopsy were examined for HSV-1 DNA, the percentage of positive samples ranged from 55% to 94%.13 16 17 31 32 Because the results of TG positivity in this investigation using fixed material were within the range of HSV-1 positivity observed in other studies in which fresh TG material was used, these results suggest that the methods to extract and amplify DNA from formalin-fixed cadaveric tissues prepared for this study were appropriate and that the results are an accurate indication of the number of ganglia containing HSV-1 DNA.
Before this investigation, HSV-1 DNA had not been reported in human CG samples. This study demonstrated that DNA could be extracted from formalin-fixed human CG and that the percentage of HSV-1 DNA-positive CG from this investigation was similar to the percentage of positive TG ganglia in this and other studies.13 16 17 31 32 Possible explanations for the existence of HSV-1 DNA in the CG samples are (1) CG latency established after primary infection of AC structures innervated by oculomotor parasympathetic nerve fibers; (2) autoinoculation of the eye by fingers or other objects carrying HSV-1 from primary or recurrent oral HSV-1 lesions; (3) transfer of reactivated virus directly from the TG to the CG through the nasociliary nerve; and/or (4) transfer of HSV-1 from latent TG virus that reactivated, traveled to the nasociliary nerve endings, and subsequently infected nearby parasympathetic nerve fibers. This latter possibility is an indirect route by which HSV-1 latency could be established in the CG. However, regardless of the manner in which virus gains access to the CG, the percentage of positive CG samples in this study supports the idea that the CG may be another site of HSV-1 latency in addition to the TG.33
In most cases, the ARN syndrome occurs in persons with no evidence of extraocular herpetic infection and who are generally considered healthy.5 In spite of this, most cases of ARN syndrome appear to result from infections caused by reactivated herpes virus.5 If the TG is the only repository for latent HSV-1 and assuming the virus has access to all three divisions of the trigeminal nerve, it would be reasonable to expect that ARN would be also accompanied by oral and facial lesions. The data from this investigation, however, provide a possible explanation for the absence of extraocular herpetic lesions in typical ARN cases resulting from reactivated HSV-1. Because the CG has no neural connections to the mouth or the face, reactivation of latent HSV-1 in a CG would probably produce symptoms primarily associated with the brain and/or eye, rather than the mouth or face. Although studies in the mouse have shown that HSV-1 can spread from structures in the anterior segment of the eye to the CG, it is not known whether HSV-1 in the anterior segment of human patients spreads to the CG as it does in the mouse.11
In conclusion, even with the limitations discussed earlier, the results of these studies support the idea that HSV-1 is present in cell bodies other than those of the TG and that the CG may be an additional site of HSV-1 latency. However, it remains to be determined whether virus can reactivate from a non-TG site and whether it can reactivate if it infects neurons synaptically connected directly or indirectly to the eye and/or to other nonocular sites.
| Acknowledgements |
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| Footnotes |
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Submitted for publication December 19, 2001; revised February 25, 2002; accepted March 1, 2002.
Commercial relationships policy: N.
The publication costs of this article were defrayed in part by page charge payment. This article must therefore be marked "advertisement" in accordance with 18 U.S.C.
1734 solely to indicate this fact.
Corresponding author: Sally S. Atherton, Department of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Medical College of Georgia, R and E Building, Room CB2915, Augusta, GA 30912; satherton{at}mail.mcg.edu.
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