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. 1990 Nov;58(11):3816–3818. doi: 10.1128/iai.58.11.3816-3818.1990

Growth of Chlamydia trachomatis in enucleated cells.

E Perara 1, T S Yen 1, D Ganem 1
PMCID: PMC313735  PMID: 2228252

Abstract

Chlamydia trachomatis is an obligate intracellular parasite of eucaryotic cells. Little is known about the role of the host in supporting chlamydial replication beyond the facts that host cells provide ATP and that de novo host protein synthesis is not required for bacterial growth. To further explore potential contributions of host nuclear function to chlamydial development, we questioned whether murine C. trachomatis could grow in mouse L cells that had been enucleated with cytochalasin B. Following enucleation, cells were infected with chlamydiae and analyzed morphologically and biochemically. Late in infection, substantial numbers of chlamydiae of all developmental stages were seen within large cytoplasmic inclusions that were indistinguishable from those seen in infected intact cells. Normal numbers of infectious progeny particles were produced from enucleated cultures. We conclude that active host cell nuclear function is not required to support the growth of chlamydiae.

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Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

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