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Updated: Aug 2, 2026

A Primary Neuron Culture System for the Study of Herpes Simplex Virus Latency and Reactivation
Published on: April 2, 2012
Quantitative analysis of herpes simplex virus in cranial nerve ganglia
Jeffrey T Vrabec1, Raye L Alford
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Communicative Studies, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA. jvrabec@bcm.tmc.edu
Abstract:
A susceptible individual exposed to herpes simplex virus (HSV) will develop latent infection in multiple cranial nerve ganglia. There are a few quantitative studies of the viral load within the trigeminal ganglion, but none that investigate other cranial nerve ganglia. In this study, human trigeminal, geniculate, vestibular (Scarpa's) and cochlear (spiral) ganglia were obtained from willed body donors. Real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of the HSV DNA polymerase gene was performed on ipsilateral ganglion sets from the same individual. Viral load, expressed as HSV genomes per 105 cells, was significantly greater in the vestibular ganglion (mean +/- SD, 176705 +/- 255916) than in the geniculate (9948 +/- 22066), cochlear (3527 +/- 9360), or trigeminal (2017 +/- 5578) ganglia. There was not a significant correlation among ganglia from the same individual. The results support the hypothesis that neuronal subpopulations have variable susceptibility to HSV infection.
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