Decontamination of a Mycoplasma-infected Chlamydia pneumoniae strain by pulmonary passage in SCID mice.

We describe a procedure to eliminate contaminating Mycoplasma from Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) cultures by pulmonary passage in severe combined immunodeficiency mice (SCID). Four weeks after experimental infection only C. pneumoniae could be cultured from the lungs of the infected animals while Mycoplasma could not be detected any longer, as shown by PCR, culture and transmission electron microscopy (TEM).