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The cytogenetic, proliferative and viability effects of four bacteriophages on human lymphocytes

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Certain bacteriophages have been found in live, virus vaccines, while a few others have been associated with disease states. Some of these phages have produced abnormal growth of eukaryotic tissue cultures. For this reason bacteriophages ϕX-174, MS2, T2 and an isolate from live virus vaccines, ϕV-1, were incubated with human cell cultures for examination of chromosomal effects, cell proliferation and viability. Mitogen-stimulated lymphocytes and human embryonic kidney tissue cultures showed no increase in chromosomal abnormalities for high doses of phage-infected versus control cultures. Tritiated-thymidine uptake, correlated with mitotic indices for phage-treated lymphocyte culture, indicated a reduction in cell division, while 51-chromium release studies showed no cell death occurring in these cultures. This suggested that inhibition of DNA synthesis was occurring in some cells. The presence of phage in the supernate of cells that were exposed to phage suggested the possibility of phage attachment to the plasma membranes of lymphocytes, which may in turn affect the suppression of DNA synthesis.

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Author notes

  1. S. L. Wenger

    Present address: Division of Medical Genetics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, 15213, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  2. J. C. Petricciani

    Present address: Division of Pathology, Bureau of Biologics, 20014, Bethesda, Maryland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, 15261, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

    S. L. Wenger, J. H. Turner & J. C. Petricciani

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  1. S. L. Wenger
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  2. J. H. Turner
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  3. J. C. Petricciani
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Additional information

This work was supported by HEW/FDA Grant No. 223-73-1171.

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Wenger, S.L., Turner, J.H. & Petricciani, J.C. The cytogenetic, proliferative and viability effects of four bacteriophages on human lymphocytes. In Vitro 14, 543–549 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02616097

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