Flow cytometric analysis of DNA content of mouse liver cells following in vivo infection by human adenovirus type 5.

Human adenovirus type 5 caused acute hepatocellular damage when injected intravenously into C57B1/6 mice. Early protein (P) and late virus protein (V) antigen staining by immunofluorescence was located principally, if not exclusively, in hepatocytes. Autoradiography following incorporation of tritiated thymidine into Ad5-infected liver cells in vivo indicated that DNA synthesis was initiated in hepatocytes. Flow cytometry showed that cells with a 4n DNA content prior to infection were highly susceptible to infection, with 75% being lost from the liver cell population by 5 days post-infection. This observation was correlated with the observed pathology during the course of the infection.