Skip to main content
PMC home page
Journal of Bacteriology logoLink to Journal of Bacteriology
. 1966 Jan;91(1):14–20. doi: 10.1128/jb.91.1.14-20.1966

Intracellular Production of Brucella L Forms II. Induction and Survival of Brucella abortus L Forms in Tissue Culture1

Betty A Hatten a, S Edward Sulkin a
PMCID: PMC315903  PMID: 4955246

Abstract

Hatten, Betty A. (The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, Dallas), and S. Edward Sulkin. Intracellular production of Brucella L forms. II. Induction and survival of Brucella abortus L forms in tissue culture. J. Bacteriol. 91:14–20. 1966.—Intracellular survival of altered brucellae, possibly L forms, was not greatly affected by penicillin or streptomycin in concentrations ranging from 5.0 to 40 μg/ml, but a combination of these two antibiotics (2.5 to 20 μg/ml each) reduced the number of positive L-form cultures. Tetracycline (2.0 μg/ml) decreased the number of positive L-form cultures at about the same rate as combinations of the higher concentrations of penicillin and streptomycin. Various concentrations of tetracycline (0.1 to 2.0 μg/ml) with 5.0 μg/ml of penicillin or streptomycin significantly reduced the number of positive L-form cultures. L forms were recovered for several days after elimination of bacteria from the cultures by all of the antibiotics tested. L-form production was not dependent upon the presence of antibiotics in the culture medium, but they were recovered in greater numbers when bacteria were still present in the hamster kidney cells. Addition of thallium acetate to infected cells (at varying intervals of time after infection) to control bacterial growth and conversion to the L phase during cellular disintegration decreased the number of positive L-form cultures obtained over a 10-day period. Comparison of the antibiotic sensitivity of bacteria recovered from infected tissue culture cells with the stock strain of Brucella abortus indicated that some resistance to penicillin and tetracycline had developed. A marked resistance to streptomycin was observed in those bacteria recovered from cells maintained in the presence of this antibiotic.

Full text

PDF
14

Selected References

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

  1. DIENES L., WEINBERGER H. J. The L forms of bacteria. Bacteriol Rev. 1951 Dec;15(4):245–288. doi: 10.1128/br.15.4.245-288.1951. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. EAGLE H. The binding of penicillin in relation to its cytotoxic action. III. The binding of penicillin by mammalian cells in tissue culture (HeLa and L strains). J Exp Med. 1954 Jul 1;100(1):117–124. doi: 10.1084/jem.100.1.117. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. FARID Z., MIALE A., Jr, OMAR M. S., VAN PEENEN P. F. Antibiotic treatment of acute brucellosis caused by Brucella melitensis. J Trop Med Hyg. 1961 Jul;64:157–163. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. FREEMAN B. A., VANA L. R. Host-parasite relationships in brucellosis. I. Infection of normal guinea pig macrophages in tissue culture. J Infect Dis. 1958 May-Jun;102(3):258–267. doi: 10.1093/infdis/102.3.258. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. HOPPS H. E., SMADEL J. E., BERNHEIM B. C., DANAUSKAS J. X., JACKSON E. B. Effect of antibiotics on intracellular Salmonella typhosa. II. Elimination of infection by prolonged treatment. J Immunol. 1961 Aug;87:162–174. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Hatten B. A., Sulkin S. E. Intracellular Production of Brucella L Forms I. Recovery of L Forms from Tissue Culture Cells Infected with Brucella abortus. J Bacteriol. 1966 Jan;91(1):285–296. doi: 10.1128/jb.91.1.285-296.1966. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. JENKIN C., BENACERRAF B. In vitro studies on the interaction between mouse peritoneal macrophages and strains of Salmonella and Escherichia coli. J Exp Med. 1960 Aug 1;112:403–417. doi: 10.1084/jem.112.2.403. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. KAGAN B. M., ZOLLA S., BUSSER R., LIEPNIEKS S. SENSITIVITY OF COCCAL AND L FORMS OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS TO FIVE ANTIBIOTICS. J Bacteriol. 1964 Sep;88:630–632. doi: 10.1128/jb.88.3.630-632.1964. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. KESSEL R. W., ARONSON M., BRAUN W. Effects of brucellaphage on extracellular and intracellular Brucella abortus. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1960 Dec;105:447–450. doi: 10.3181/00379727-105-26136. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. MACKANESS G. B. The action of drugs on intracellular tubercle bacilli. J Pathol Bacteriol. 1952 Jul;64(3):429–446. doi: 10.1002/path.1700640302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. PICKETT M. J., NELSON E. L. Observations on the problem of Brucella blood cultures. J Bacteriol. 1951 Feb;61(2):229–237. doi: 10.1128/jb.61.2.229-237.1951. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. RALSTON D. J., BAER B. S., ELBERG S. S. Lysis of brucellae by the combined action of glycine and a lysozyme-like agent from rabbit monocytes. J Bacteriol. 1961 Sep;82:342–353. doi: 10.1128/jb.82.3.342-353.1961. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. RALSTON D. J., ELBERG S. S. Intramonocytic destruction of Brucella: potentiating effect of glycine on intracellular lysozyme activity. J Infect Dis. 1961 Jul-Aug;109:71–80. doi: 10.1093/infdis/109.1.71. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. RENOUX G., SUIRE A. SPONTANEOUS LYSIS AND PHAGE-CARRIER STATE IN BRUCELLA CULTURES. J Bacteriol. 1963 Oct;86:642–647. doi: 10.1128/jb.86.4.642-647.1963. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. RICHARDSON M., HOLT J. N. Synergistic action of streptomycin with other antibiotics of intracellular Brucella abortus in vitro. J Bacteriol. 1962 Oct;84:638–646. doi: 10.1128/jb.84.4.638-646.1962. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. RUBIO-HUERTOS M., GONZALEZ-VAZQUEZ C. Morphology and pathogenicity of L forms of Clostridium tetani induced by glycine. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 1960 Jan 15;79:626–631. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1960.tb42732.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. SPINK W. W. Current status of therapy of brucellosis in human beings. J Am Med Assoc. 1960 Feb 13;172:697–698. doi: 10.1001/jama.1960.63020070004016. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. SUTER E. Multiplication of tubercle bacilli within phagocytes cultivated in vitro, and effect of streptomycin and isonicotinic acid hydrazide. Am Rev Tuberc. 1952 Jun;65(6):775–776. doi: 10.1164/art.1952.65.6.775. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. WARD J. R., MADOFF S., DIENES L. In vitro sensitivity of some bacteria, their L forms and pleuropneumonia-like organisms to antibiotics. Proc Soc Exp Biol Med. 1958 Jan;97(1):132–135. doi: 10.3181/00379727-97-23667. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Journal of Bacteriology are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES