KINETICS OF SERUM AND OCULAR ANTIBODY-RESPONSES IN SUSCEPTIBLE MICE THAT RECEIVED A SECONDARY CORNEAL INFECTION WITH PSEUDOMONAS-AERUGINOSA

When susceptible C57BL/6J mice were infected with Pseudomonas aerugino sa in one eye and then reinfected in the previously uninfected contral ateral control eye either 4 or 8 weeks after the primary infection, ap proximately 20 to 30% of the mice receiving a 4-week reinfection regim en restored corneal clarity within 4 weeks, while almost all of the 8- week-reinfected mice restored corneal clarity within 3 to 6 days posti nfection. However, the rate of bacterial clearance was the same in bot h sets of mice despite the presence of opsonophagocytic antibodies onl y in the 8-week-reinfected mice. As determined by enzyme-linked immuno sorbent assay, immunoglobulin G was the major immunoglobulin in both s erum and ocular tissue of both mouse sets, and the immunoglobulin G le vel was two- to fourfold higher after the 8-week secondary infection t han in the 4-week-reinfected mice.