Abstract
Neonatal albino rats received Simian virus 40 (SV40) within 24 hours of birth. Twenty-four to 48 hours later viral antigen was demonstrable within the retina by immunofluorescent studies. Histopathologic examination of the retinas five and ten days after infection revealed basophilic intranuclear inclusions in cells of the inner nuclear layer. Adult rats similarly infected as newborns developed ophthalmoscopically visible neovascular tufts on the retinal surface by the sixth month of neonatal life. Histopathologic study of the affected adult rat eye revealed preretinal and subretinal neovascularization, retinal folds, and gliosis. Many of the features of SV40-induced retinopathy in the rat are similar to those seen in lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-induced retinopathy in the rat and sheep blue-tongue virus-induced retinal dysplasia in the fetal lamb.