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The cytogenetic effects of mycoplasma in human leukocyte cultures
Author(s) -
Aula Pertti,
Nichols Warren W.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
journal of cellular physiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.529
H-Index - 174
eISSN - 1097-4652
pISSN - 0021-9541
DOI - 10.1002/jcp.1040700308
Subject(s) - biology , mitosis , mycoplasma , microbiology and biotechnology , chromosome , breakage , virology , genetics , materials science , composite material , gene
To evaluate the possible role of mycoplasma contamination of tissue cultures in virus induced chromosome breakage, human leukocyte cultures were inoculated with three mycoplasma strains; M. salivarium, M. hominis type 2 and M. fermentans . All three strains caused mitotic inhibition when an inoculum of approximately 10 6 CFU was used, the effect of M. fermentans being less severe than the one produced by the two other strains. Using a lower inoculum of 10 3 CFU an increase of chromosome breakage could be produced with M. salivarium when the leukocytes were cultivated for five days. No chromosome changes were seen with M. hominis type 2 and M. fermentans . The mitotic inhibition and chromosome breaks induced by M. salivarium were discovered to be related to an arginine deficiency of the culture medium produced by the mycoplasma. This conclusion is dervied from the fact that arginine addition was able to inhibit the mitotic inhibition and the increase of chromosome breakage, and secondly, that similar changes could be produced in leukocytes grown in argining deficient medidum without mycoplasma. The growth of M. salivarium was inhibited in leukocyte cultures treated with kanamycin, but the mycoplasma induced mitotic inhibition was still present, indicating that replication of mycoplasma organisms was not required for the production of arginine deficiency.