CASP12 and eye infection: Although depletion of caspase-12 is associated with increased virus spread and a more severe retinitis in immunosuppressed mice following intraocular inoculation of MCMV during acute ocular infection [40], the status of ocular MCMV latency was not affected by caspase-12 since similar levels of MCMV DNA and MCMV expressed genes were detected in latently infected caspase-12−/− eyes compared to latently infected wild-type eyes.