Antigenic Similarity of Five Human Strains of Pleuropneumonia-like Organisms

Abstract

reversal in the experimental lot was induced by the cortisone. Fig. 2 to 4 show how the degenerative processes in the ovarian cortex are immediateIy followed by thickening of the walls of the ovarian sacs, proliferation of numerous medullary cords, and differentiation of seminal tubules. The ovarian sacs become gradually reduced to seminal and reticular tubules of the testis.The cortisone esperiments are being continued, in order to obtain more information about the range of dosages, that will result in sex reversal: however, the fact that this substance like the other tested androstanes interferes with normal ovarian development and eventually causes sex reversal in females of R Q~Q S J~V Q~Z ' C Q , is now safely established. This result is somewhat surprising because cortisone has not, so far. been known to have androgenic functions. -4s a matter of fact, the results of our experiment should neither be considered as a demonstration of an androgenic character. This term should rather be restricted to designate the stimulation of male secondary sex characters. In our experiment cortisone evidently acts entirely by interfering with normal ovarian development. The development of the gonadal cortex becomes inhibi'ted, and later the differentiated OVOcytes are caused to degenerate. The transformations that lead to the development of the testicular structure probably are not induced directly by the cortisone. Since constitutionally the female larvae are bisexual, with the female determiners epistatic over the male factors, the inhibition or destruction of the ovarian cortex automa tically creates the possibility for a compensatory, medullary-testicular development ( 3 ) . The action of cortisone on the sex glands is, therefore, best characterized as antagonistic to the development of an ovarial cortex or, shortly, as anti-ovariogenic.Cortisone, like 3 other tested alkyl substituted androstanes, causes the transformation of ovaries of frog larvae into testes. Its action is initially anti-ovariogenic, and sex reversal follows by a compensatory development of the medullary rudiment. The dosages that produce sex reversal are high in comparison with the threshold values of testosterone and methyltestosternne. Suiwnary.,From t k e Dopart i i w n t of Bacteriology, A r i i r y Medical Service GradfLate School, Washington, D. C. .Serologic studies of the pleuropneumonia-'like organisms (hereafter referred to as -PPLO) have been hampered by the difficulties 'encountered in isolating and maintaining strains. Cultural and morphologic characteristics of human strains have been studied, but relatively few observations employing serologic methods have been recorded. Warren and Sabin(1) compared one human strain

Antigenic Properties of Pleuropneumonia-Like Organisms From Tissue Cell Cultures and the Human Genital Area

“…The oral strains of PPLO studied differed antigenically from the genital strains and were tentatively classified as type 4. Similar results of related studies have been reported by investigators using agglutination techniques (Norman, Saslow, and Kuhn, 1951;Dienes and Madoff, 1953) or complement fixation (Card, 1959). Coriell, Fabrizio, and Wilson (1960) used a complement-fixation procedure to investigate PPLO strains isolated from tissue cell cultures from several laboratories.…”

The serological differentiation ofMycoplasmastrains (pleuropneumonia-like organisms) from various sources

“…There are no reports of the isolation of 'type 2' from the human genital tract in Europe, but in the U.S.A. a few other type 2 genital strains besides Campo and 07 have been isolated (Norman et at. 1950;Bailey et al 1961).…”

Role of Organisms of the Pleuropneumonia Group in Human Genital Infections

“…Strain " Campo L" was originally isolated by Dienes (1953), who showed that it was serologically similar to each of five other genital strains isolated by him in 1939-40. The five strains, examined by Norman, Saslaw, and Kuhn (1950) and shown to be serologically identical with each other, included strain " Campo L ". Thus the strains which had previously been studied serologically were Type 2 strains, all of which had been isolated in America.…”