The effect of penicillin on genital strains of Chlamydia trachomatis in tissue culture

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Abstract
The growth in McCoy cell tissue culture of strains of Chiamydia trachomatis recently isolated from genital infections was examined quantitatively after incubation with benzylpenicillin. An extracellular concentration of 0.1 unit/ml throughout incubation prevented the development of normal fluorescent chlarnydial inclusions, but even at high concentration (100 units/ml) abnormal non-fluorescent inclusions developed. Erythromycin, chloramphenicol and tetracycline inhibited the growth of the organism without producing abnormal inclusions. The effect of delayed addition of penicillin or its removal during incubation was investigated. The possible nature of the abnormal inclusions resulting from exposure to penicillin is discussed.