[Mechanism of the mutagenic action of the tick-borne encephalitis virus]

The results of cytogenetic analysis of pig embryo kidney cells infected at a high multiplicity (5-10 PFU/cell) with tick-borne encephalitis virus. The dynamics of formations of virus-induced chromosome aberrations differed markedly from that observed at lower multiplicities of infection. No increase of the mutagenic effect with increasing infective dose of the virus was found, however. The assumption that TBE virus mutagenic properties are associated with structural virus proteins is discussed. Attenuated variants of TBE virus were shown to have no mutagenic properties.