Inactivating and mutagenic effects of nitrosoguanide on human cytomegalovirus.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) was exposed for 24 hr to 10-30 micrograms/ml nitrosoguanidine (NG) at different times postinfection. NG treatments performed 24 to 48 hr after infection of human IAFP-1 fibroblasts with HCMV interfered most significantly with the replication of the virus. No correlation was found, however, between the inactivating effect of NG at this particular stage of the replication cycle and the induction of HCMV temperature-sensitive mutants. All the 17 HCMV mutant strains isolated on this occasion showed the same BamHI, Cfo I, Hpa II and Sph I restriction profiles which is indicative of mutations caused by single base changes.