Viral Infections and Chromosome Aberrations

Chromosome studies were carried out in cultured peripheral blood leukocytes from 197 cases of various viral infections of man in cultured peripheral blood leukocytes from African green monkeys infected with rubella virus (in vivo), and in cultured BHK, RE, GMK cells infected with rubella virus, in cultured BHK, HEK cells infected with adenovirus type 4, 12 and 18 (in vitro). As the results, 73 of 197 cases of viral infections rubella, mumps, varicella, measles, viral meningo-encephalitis, viral pneumonia, infectious mononucleosis and herpes zoster patients, showed relatively higher incidence of chromosome breakages (0-33%) than the controls (0-7%). On 5 cases of African green monkeys infected with rubella virus, abnormal retaphase plates were an average 10.7, 15.4, 9.5, 9.9, 8.0% as compared with 6.6, 7.0, -, 0, 4.0% of the controls. The difference was significant. On BHK, RE and GMK cells infected with rubella virus, abnormal metaphase plates were at 7.0-25.2, 0-14.6 and 7.0-14.6% as compared with 4.0-8.0, 6.9-8.3 and 2.0-9.0% of the controls, being slightly or moderately different. And on BHK cells infected with adenovirus type 4, 12 and 18, abnormal metaphase plates were 0-20, 7-17 and 0-37% as compared with 0-6% of the controls, being greatly different. On HEK cells, abnormal metaphase plates were 8-15, 0-40 and 7-14% as compared with 3-7% of the controls, being greatly different. These abnormal chromosomes in present studies were mostly chromatid or isochromatid breaks and fragments with a few to moderate incidence of extensively impaired chromosomes