Mycoplasma-Cell Culture-Virus Interactions: A Brief Review

It has been established that certain mycoplasmas can alter the activity and function of contaminated cell cultures and thereby markedly affect the results of study. Some of these effects have been reviewed elsewhere (1, 2). This presentation will briefly discuss three general aspects of mycoplasma-cell-virus interaction including: a) the cytopathic effects (CPE) produced by the myco-plasma fermenters; b) the inhibitory effect produced by the arginine utilizing mycoplasmas on lymphocyte blastformation; and c) the effects of mycoplasmas on virus propagation.