Interleukin-10 (IL-10) ameliorates corneal disease in a mouse model of recurrent herpetic keratitis

Interleukin 10 (IL-10), a moderator of Delayed Type Hypersensitivity (DTH) responses, has been demonstrated to be present late in acute HSV corneal infection and may help limit blinding inflammatory lesions there. In contrast, IL-10 is present early in the development of recurrent herpetic stromal keratitis (HSK) lesions in mice. To determine the role of IL-10 and DTH responses in recurrent HSK, we examined DTH responses and disease parameters in latently infected IL-10 knock out (KO) mice, and latently infected normal mice that were untreated or received anti-IL-10 antibodies or recombinant IL-10 following ultraviolet-B stimulated ocular HSV recurrence. Low DTH responses were associated with less severe corneal disease while high DTH responses were associated with greater corneal disease. In IL-10 KO mice, and in normal mice given anti-IL-10 antibodies, corneal opacification was increased and DTH responses were significantly prolonged. Normal mice receiving rIL-10 by ocular and intra-peritoneal routes had less severe corneal lesions. Our results indicate that IL-10 and DTH responses play an important role in the pathogenesis of recurrent HSK in mice.