[Role of nucleases in the origination of chromosomal disorders in virus-infected cells].

It is shown that herpes simplex virus can induce the chromosome aberrations both in cells supporting the productive infection and in non-permissive cells. In virus-infected human embryo fibroblast culture the activity of cell (lysosomal) and virus-coded DNAses is elevated. Suppression of the activity of any of the enzymes leads to decreasing the number of aberrant cells. Suppression of the activity of both DNases at the same time decreases the number of aberrant cells to a control level. In M15 cells which do not support the productive infection, the activity of only lysosomal DNase is elevated. Suppression of its activity leads to the decrease of the frequency of cells with chromosome breaks to a control level. Thus, both cells and virus-coded lytic enzymes can participate in the production of chromosome breaks in virus-infected cells. Possibly, the relative role of these enzymes may be rather different in different virus-cell systems.