[Glycolytic metabolites and adenosine triphosphoric acid in the herpes-infected eye].

In the tissues of the herpes-infected eye of a rabbit the content of adenosine triphosphoric acid (ATP), glucose and pyroracemic acid decreases and the level of lactic acid rises, i.e. anaerobic glycolysis prevails over the aerobic decomposition of glucose. A sharp decrease in the amount of ATP in the cornea and the iris in herpetic keratitis is due to the increased consumption of ATP for the synthesis of DNA and polypeptides of herpes simplex virus, as well as to disturbances in the oxidation transformations of glucose linked with the increased proportion of anaerobic glycolysis.