Ultrastructural effect of penicillin and cycloheximide on Chlamydia trachomatis strain HAR-13.

The effect of cycloheximide and penicillin on the ultrastructural morphology of C. trachomatis strain HAR-13 was examined by electron microscopy. HAR-13 infected McCoy cells were either treated with cycloheximide (1 microgram/ml) or cycloheximide (1 microgram/ml) plus penicillin G (100 U/ml). The studies revealed that cycloheximide alone induced no morphological alterations into the ultrastructure of HAR-13. Both HAR-13 developmental forms, the elementary body and reticulate body, were present inside the treated McCoy cells. The elementary bodies contained the central dense nucleoid and were about 0.3 microns in diameter, while the reticulate bodies were of typical gram negative bacterial morphology and were from 0.5-1.0 microns in diameter. Cycloheximide in combined treatment with pencillin produced giant, swollen reticulate bodies that were 2-4 microns in diameter and in some cases vacuolated. Elementary bodies were noticeably absent. These results indicate that cycloheximide does not alter the morphology of HAR-13. This system is a useful model for studying the ultrastructural morphology of C. trachomatis strain HAR-13.