Premium
A Fifteen‐Year Perspective on the In Vitro Culture of Pneumocystis carinii
Author(s) -
PIFER LINDA L.
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
the journal of protozoology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 0022-3921
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1989.tb05815.x
Subject(s) - pneumocystis carinii , subclinical infection , in vitro , pneumonia , biology , immunology , drug , microbiology and biotechnology , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , medicine , virology , pharmacology , biochemistry , pneumocystis jirovecii
The in vitro cultivation of Pneumocystis carinii in chick lung cell culture made it possible to observe the organism proceeding through its life cycle. It provided the foundation for extensive serocpidcmiologic studies, for in vitro drug screening, and for essential biological, metabolic, and morphologic research. In vitro culture made possible the discovery of P. carinii antigenemia, its biochemical nature, and its relevance to subclinical and clinical infection. Its utility in the presumptive diagnosis of P. carinii pneumonia and in monitoring responses to drug therapy illustrate the value and clinical application of basic research.