Effects of herpes simplex virus strains on human fibroblast and lymphocyte chromosomes and the localization of chromosomal aberrations.

The effects on human chromosomes of types 1, 2 and of intermediate serotype of herpes simplex virus (HSV) was compared in fibroblast and lymphocyte cultures. The karyological changes due to HSV were shown to depend on the serotype used as well as on the kind of cells examined (agent-specificity and cell-reaction specificity). Differences were noted among the strains in relation to the degree and character of the aberrations induced. Conventional Giemsa staining and the trypsin G-banding techniques were used to localize aberrations in the length of human fibroblast and lymphocyte chromosomes after HSV infection. A non-random damage of chromosomes 1 and 3 displaying the same pattern in either cell type was established. The distribution of chromosomal abnormalities was independent of the chromosome length. The topographic banding analysis of lesions induced by strains of HSV-1, HSV-2 and intermediate serotypes showed that the most frequent aberrations were localized in bands p32, p34, q21 and q32 of chromosome 1 and in the band q21 of chromosome 3. The localization of the most frequently occurring aberrations in the chromosomes belonging to other groups was also determined.