Cytogenetic disorders in peripheral blood lymphocytes of patients with febrile form of tick-borne encephalitis.

An appreciable increase in the number of aberrant lymphocytes was detected in the peripheral blood of patients with febrile form of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE). This increase peaked during week 2 of the infectious process and was paralleled by a decrease in the count of natural killer cells. By the end of the acute period of neuroinfection the number of cells with structural chromosome aberrations decreased, but still surpassed the control (donor blood). Genetically unstable cells were eliminated predominantly at the expense of lymphocytes with chromatid disorders, while the count of CD16-expressing lymphocytes increased. The intensity of reparative DNA synthesis was suppressed during the entire acute period of tick-borne encephalitis.