Cytogenetic effects of inactivated influenza virus on male germ cells of mice.

Earlier we reported that both actively replicating (A2 and B) and live but nonreplicating (C) strains of influenza virus induced significant percentages of chromosome aberrations in the spermatogonia of the infected mice, suggesting that virus replication was not essential for the induction of chromosome aberrations. In the present communication, data are presented to demonstrate that the inoculation of formaldehyde-inactivated A2 Hong Kong influenza virus also induced higher percentages of chromosome aberrations in mouse spermatogonia than were seen in controls.