NONACID-FAST BACTERIA AND HeLa CELLS: THEIR UPTAKE AND SUBSEQUENT INTRACELLULAR GROWTH

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Abstract
The uptake by He La cells of different species of bacteria was observed to be promoted selectively by the sera of different species of animals, when the sera were incorporated in the tissue culture medium at a concentration of 20%. Dog serum promoted the uptake of Pasteurella tularensis and of Salmonella typhosa, guinea pig serum group D streptococci and Histoplasma capsulatum, chicken and guinea pig serum Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, and Brucella suis, and guinea pig and sheep serum staphylocci. A tissue culture medium containing 20% of the appropriate serum was used to infect the cells with a particular bacterium, and in most cases it could be followed by a medium containing 40% human serum to depress phagocytosis, and also containing streptomycin to prevent extracellular growth. Intracellular growth of the bacteria could then be observed. The natural pathogens grew in the cells at rates related to their optimal rates on bacteriological media, and strains of lower pathogenicity grew more slowly.