Infection of mouse lymphoblastoid cell lines with Mycoplasma hyorhinis: complex nature of mycoplasma-host cell interactions.

Mycoplasma hyorhinis infection of lymphoid cells is a complex process. Mycoplasmas adsorb to cell surface receptors and undergo lateral redistribution on the cell membrane. This process culminates in the formation of co-caps of mycoplasmas and specific cell surface antigens. One or more of these antigens may be a M. hyorhinis receptor(s) or may bear a receptor moiety(s). We show that the cell surface antigens Thy-1.2 and Thy-1.1, and to a lesser extent H-2 and gp70, but not T200, are co-capped with M. hyorhinis on the membranes of acutely infected mouse thymic lymphoblastoid cell lines. These antigens may represent multiple receptor(s) for M. hyorhinis since there is no correlation between the expression of any individual antigen and the susceptibility of these cell lines to infection.