1. Introduction
Mycoplasmas are the smallest and simplest self-replicating bacteria [1]. These microorganisms lack a peptidoglycan based rigid cell wall and thus are not susceptible to antibiotics, such as penicillin and its analogues, which are effective against most bacterial contaminants of cell cultures. The trivial name mycoplasma encompasses all species included in the class
2. Mycoplasmas contaminating cultured cells
It is well established that stable cell cultures are frequently contaminated by mycoplasmas. In a study carried out in the USA at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), over 20,000 cell cultures were examined during a period of 30 years, 15% of which were found to be contaminated [5]. Higher incidences of contamination have also beenreported. Three different surveys in Japan showed an incidence of mycoplasma contamination of 60-80%, and an incidence of 65% was reported in Argentina [5]. At least 20 distinct
In general, primary cell cultures are less frequently contaminated than continuous cell lines. However, since many viral vaccines (such as those for measles, mumps, rubella, polio and rabies) are produced in primary cell cultures, many countries require such cultures to be screened carefully for mycoplasma contamination before approval can be given for release of the vaccine (or other biological products intended for human use) to the market-place.
All cell types, including virus-infected, transformed, or neoplastic cell cultures grown in monolayers and/or in suspension, derived from all host-types examined, are subject to contamination. Mammalian and avian cell lines were the most commonly contaminated although, on occasions, cell cultures derived from reptiles, fish, insects or plants were also contaminated. Most studies have examined fibroblast cell cultures, but epithelial, endothelial, lymphocytic and hybridoma cell-culture lines have also been found to be contaminated. Frequently, the number of mycoplasmas far exceeds (often by 1000-fold) the number of tissue-culture cells in an infected cell culture. The information available on the contamination of cultures of differentiated cell lines is limited, and more data are needed before a proper assessment can be made. Mycoplasma contamination of vaccines presents a potential health hazard; consequently, identifying the source(s) of contamination is a key concern. The probable source of most mycoplasma contaminants in primary cell culture is the original tissue used to develop the primary cell culture lot. Whereas lung, kidney, or liver tend to be mycoplasma-free, the foreskin, the lower female-urogenital tract, or tumor tissues, are subject to mycoplasma colonization, and generally show a higher rate of contamination [5]. Nonetheless, contamination from exogenous sources also occurs during cell propagation and continuous cell cultures are the most frequently contaminated. The main source of contamination is, in many cases, infection by previously-contaminated cell cultures that have been maintained and processed in the same laboratory [5]. Mycoplasmas are spread by using laboratory equipment, media, or reagents that have been contaminated by previous use in processing mycoplasma-infected cell cultures. New cell-culture acquisitions should be quarantined, tested and guaranteed mycoplasma-free before introduction into the tissue-culture laboratory. Common experimental stock materials, such as virus pools, or monoclonal antibody preparations, can also be a key source of mycoplasma contamination. As there is no legal requirement for suppliers to provide mycoplasma-free products, bovine serum should be considered as a possible source of contamination. Mycoplasma contaminants of bovine serum are primarily bovine species, with
3. Mode of interaction with host cells
3.1. Adherence to host cells
Most mycoplasmas are typical extracellular microorganisms able to adhere to the surface of tissue culture cells. Many mycoplasmas exhibit the typical polymorphism of mycoplasmas, with the most common filamentous, flask shapes or ovoid structures (Figure 1, Ref. 6). The adherence of mycoplasmasto host cells is an initial and essential step in tissue colonization[4]. The lack of a cell wall has forced mycoplasmas to develop sophisticated molecular mechanisms to enable their prolonged adhesion. Adherence is associated with adhesins as well as host cell receptors that mediate interaction of the bacteria with the host cells [7].
A polar, tapered cell extension at one of the poles containing an electron-dense core in the cytoplasma was described in some mycoplasmas (Figure 2). This structure, termed the tip organelle, functions mainly as an attachment and motility organelle. A variety of surface proteins that participate in the adhesion process are densely clustered at the tip organelle [4]. The role of host cell surface sialoglycoconjugates as receptors for mycoplasmas has been suggested [8]. The carbohydrate moiety of the glycoprotein, which serves as a receptor for
The attachment of mycoplasmas to the surface of host cells may interfere with membrane receptors or alter transport mechanisms of the host cell. The disruption of the K+ channels of ciliated bronchial epithelial cells by
3.2. Invasion of host cells
It is generally accepted that mycoplasmas remain attached to the surface of host cells [1]. However, some mycoplasmas have evolved mechanisms for entering host cells that are not naturally phagocytic. The intracellular location is obviously a privileged niche, well protected from the action of many antibiotics. Mycoplasma invasion of host cells was intensively studied with
In studying bacterial invasion, it is essential to differentiate between microorganisms adhering to a host cell and those which have penetrated the cell. The light microscopic and electron microscopic observations of mycoplasmas engulfed in membrane vesicles lead to conflicting interpretations. It is not clear whether mycoplasmas are intra, or are they at the bottom of crypts formed by the invagination of the cell membrane [32]. A more sophisticated ultrastructural study was based on a combined immunochemistry and electron microscopy approach. Staining surface polysaccharides of the host cell with ruthenium red allows a better differentiation between intracellular and extracellular mycoplasmas [33]. Currently, the gentamicin resistance assay is the most common assay to differentiate intracellular from extracellular bacteria [7, 34]. In this assay, the extracellular bacteria are killed by gentamicin, but the intracellular bacteria are shielded from the antibiotic because of the limited penetration of the gentamicin into eukaryotic cells. The gentamicin procedure was successfully adapted to mycoplasma systems [21, 31]. Usually the number of intracellular bacteria is determined by washing the host cells free of the antibiotic, lysing them with mild detergents to release the bacteria and counting the colonies [35]. Because mycoplasmas are as susceptible to detergent lysis as the host cells, dilutions of the mycoplasma-infected host cells should be plated directly onto solid mycoplasma media without lysing them beforehand. Each mycoplasma colony represents one infected host cell rather than a single intracellular mycoplasma [34].
Immunofluorescent staining of internalized bacteria and of those remaining on the cell surface, combined with confocal laser scanning microscopy, has demonstrated that several mycoplasmas penetrate eukaryotic cells (Figure 3; Refs. 22, 36) This nondestructive, high-resolution method allowed infected host cells to be optically sectioned after fixation and immunofluorescent labeling. Imaging single infected HeLa cells revealed that invasion is both time and temperature dependent. Penetration of melanoma cells by
The intracellular fate of invading bacteria can vary greatly. Most invasive bacteria appear to be able to survive intracellularly for extended periods of time, at least if they have reached a suitable host cell [37]. Other engulfed bacteria are degraded intracellularly via phagosome-lysosome fusion. The invasive bacteria either remain and multiply within the endosomes after invasion or are released via exocytosis and/or the lysis of the endosomes which may allow multiplication within the cytoplasm. Most ultrastructural studies performed with engulfed mycoplasmas revealed mycoplasmas within membrane-bound vesicles [30, 33, 38]. Persistence of
Almost all invasive bacteria that come into contact with the host cell surface trigger cytoskeletal rearrangements that facilitate bacterial internalization [35, 39]. Involvement of the host cell cytoskeleton in internalization is considered to be the result of a host cell signal transduction cascade induced by the invasive bacterium. As in many signal transduction processes initiated by bacteria, kinases and/or phosphatases are usually involved [39]. The invading mycoplasmas generate uptake signals that trigger the assembly of highly organized cytoskeletal structures in the host cells [23]. Yet, the nature of these signals and the mechanisms used to transduce them are not fully understood. Specific activation of protein kinases occurs during the internalization of most of the bacteria taken up by microtubule-dependent mechanisms [16]. It has been shown that invasion of HeLa cells by
3.3 Fusion with host cells
The lack of a rigid cell wall allows direct and intimate contact of the mycoplasma membrane with the cytoplasmic membrane of the eukaryotic cell. Under appropriate conditions, such contact may lead to cell fusion. Fusion of mycoplasmas with eukaryotic host cells has been first observed in electron microscopic studies [41]. The development of energy transfer and fluorescence methods has enabled investigation of the fusion process on a quantitative basis in an experimental cell culture-mycoplasma system and has also allowed the identification of fusogenic mycoplasmas. In all the fusogenic
4. Effects of mycoplasmas on cell cultures
Effects on cell function and metabolism have long been recognized as common in mycoplasma contaminated cell cultures. The nature of the effects depends on the contaminating species and strain of mycoplasma, and on the type of cell infected.Frequently, the effects are due to nutrient deprivation, such as the depletion of amino acids, sugars, fatty acids, cholesterol or nucleic-acid precursors [5], the depletion of choline [4] or the activity of mycoplasmal endonucleases [53], mycoplasmal arginine deiminase [54] or mycoplasmal thymidine phosphorylase [55]. Some mycoplasmas have been shown to produce severe cytopathic effects (CPE) characterized by stunted, abnormal growth and rounded, degenerated cells, apparently due to the promotion or inhibition of apoptosis [56]. The promotion of apoptosis may be due to direct effects of mycoplasma components. Thus,
4.1. Competition for precursors
Genomic analyses of mycoplasmas have revealed the limited biosynthetic capabilities of these microorganisms [60, 61]. Mycoplasmas apparently lost almost all the genes involved in the biosynthesis of amino acids, fatty acids, cofactors, and vitamins and therefore depend on the host microenvironment to supply the full spectrum of biochemical precursors required for the biosynthesis of macromolecules [1]. Competition for these biosynthetic precursors by mycoplasmas may disrupt host cell integrity and alter host cell function. Nonfermenting
4.2. Cytopathic effects
Mycoplasmal attachment to eukaryotic cells may sometimes lead to a pronounced cytopathic effect. Attachment permits the mycoplasma contaminant to release noxious enzymatic and cytolytic metabolites directly onto the tissue cell membrane. Some mycoplasmas selectively colonize defined areas of the cell culture. This results in microcolony formation producing microlesions and small foci of necrosis, e.g.,
Being unable to synthesize nucleotides, mycoplasmas developed potent nucleases, either soluble ones secreted into the extracellular medium or membrane-bound nucleases [1, 66, 67] apparently as a means of producing nucleic acid precursors required for metabolism. It has been shown that, occasionally, secreted mycoplasmal nucleases are taken up by the host cells [68].Thus, it was suggested that the cytotoxicity of
4.3. Transformation of cells mediated by mycoplasmas
Cell culture contamination may go undetected because mycoplasma infections do not produce the overt turbid growth that is commonly associated with bacterial and fungal contamination. Mycoplasma growth can grow in close interaction with mammalian cells, often silently for a long period of time. However, prolonged interactions with mycoplasmas with seemingly low virulence could, through a gradual and progressive course, induce chromosomal instability as well as malignant transformation, promoting tumorous growth of mammalian cells [70, 71]. Mycoplasmal-induced malignant transformation is a multistage process [70] associated with increased or decreased expression of many genes, especially cancer-related genes [72]. Over expression of H-
4.4. Modulation of immune and non-immune cell metabolism
The effects of mycoplasmas on the immune system are well established and include effects on differentiation and activation of innate immunity cells (macrophages, dentritic cells, neutrophils, NK) and on adaptive immunity cells (T and B cells). Mycoplasma and mycoplasmal components are potent macrophage activators, and stimulate the release of various proinflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα),interleukin-1(IL-1), IL-6, NO [4, 76]. In turn, some cytokines participate in lymphocyte differentiation and maturation [4].
Mycoplasmas and mycoplasmal components interact with diverse non-immune cells [56, 57, 58, 79], with some information available on the cellular proteins affected by them.
4.5. Effect on virus infection
Mycoplasmas may alter the progress of viral infections in cell cultures [83, 84]. As mycoplasmas may also cause virus-like CPE, many investigators have mistaken cytolytic mycoplasmas for viruses. Like viruses, mycoplasmas are filterable, hemadsorbant, hemagglutinant, resistant to certain antibiotics, able to induce chromosomal aberrations, and sensitive to detergents, ether and chloroform; thus the first established mycoplasma pathogens of humans (
4.6. Signal transduction pathways
Mycoplasmas and mycoplasmal membrane LPPs attach to certain Toll-like receptors (TLRs) of the host cell membrane. The main TLR involved appears to be TLR2, with participation of TLR6 as coreceptor. In some cases, TLR1 is also involved [88]. The interaction with the receptors triggers cascades of cellular signals within the cell, and the complex pathways culminate in a variety of host cell responses. Mycoplasmas and mycoplasmal LPP are known to activate the transcription factors NF-
5. Detecting mycoplasmas in cell cultures
The ubiquitous nature of mycoplasma in man, animals and the environment increases the likelihood of the introduction of these organisms into cell cultures or a manufacturing process. Currently, the recommended test requirements for biologics are as follows: (1) The master- and working cell seed banks must be free of mycoplasmas. (2) The product-harvest concentrates must be free of mycoplasmas. (3) All products produced in cell cultures, a generic term used for all tissue cells grown in vitro, must be tested. This includes viral vaccines (such as poliovirus, adenovirus, measles, rubella, mumps and rabies), monoclonal antibodies, immunological modifiers and cell-culture-derived blood products, such as tissue-type plasminogen and erythropoietin. Guidelines for mycoplasma testing of cell cultures and biologics is addressed in several international pharmacopoeias e.g., United States Pharmacopoeia, (USP 33/NF 28 <63>and <1226>, Mycoplasma tests, 2010); European Pharmacopoeia (EP 2.6.7., Mycoplasmas, 7th ed.; 2012); Japanese Pharmacopoeia (JP); Section 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH), and FDA- Points to Consider (PTC) documents. Several different approaches are being used to detect mycoplasmas in contaminated tissue cultures including the culture procedures, a variety of nonspecificprocedures andthe polymerase chain reactions (PCR).
5.1. Standard culture procedures
The culture procedures require that the tested material will be inoculated onto solid and liquid growth media capable of growing a variety of mycoplasma including aerobic, microaerophilic and anaerobic strains. Broth cultures are incubated and sub passaged to plate agar. After the required incubation period, the agar plates are observed microscopically for the presence of mycoplasma colonies [5]. The variation inherent in the complex media usually used for in vitro culture of mycoplasmas is due to batch variation in compounds such as sera, or yeast extract. Such variation makes the development of defined media attractive. However, a key problem has been the supply of lipids in an available, but non-toxic form, hence, defined artificial media have been developed for only a few species [1]. Most mycoplasmas produce microscopic (100- 400 µm in diameter) colonies with a characteristic 'fried-egg' appearance, growing embedded in the agar, although some (e.g.
5.2. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
PCR methodology has existed for decades, however conventional PCR and real-time PCR assays have only recently been considered for mycoplasma detection in cell cultures and biological products. These assays are often based on the amplification of conserved regions of the 16S rDNA [89, 90] or the spacer region between the 16S and 23S rDNA [91, 92]. The PCR approach is rapid (1‐2 days), inexpensive, and independent of culture conditions.Specific oligonucleotide primers capable of amplifying the conserved regions and thus detecting DNA of multiple
Throughout the last decade, new PCR assays for mycoplasma detection, which appeared to resolve these issues, were described, while being sufficiently simple and inexpensive for routine use. For example, a PCR assay which applied readily available techniques in DNA extraction together with a modified single-step PCR using a primer pair that was homologous to a broad spectrum of mycoplasma species was proposed [97]. A high sensitivity and specificity for mycoplasma detection in cell production cultures was made possible through the combination of three key techniques: 8-methoxypsoralen and UV light treatment to decontaminate PCR reagents of DNA; hot-start Taq DNA polymerase to reduce nonspecific priming events; and touchdown PCR to increase sensitivity while also reducing nonspecific priming events. Another proposed PCR assay for mycoplasma detection was a sensitive two-stage PCR procedure which detected 13 common mycoplasmal contaminants [92]. For primary amplification, the DNA regions encompassing the 16S and 23S rRNA genes of 13 species were targeted using general mycoplasma primers. The primary PCR products were then subjected to secondary nested PCR, using two different primer pair sets, designed via the multiple sequence alignment of nucleotide sequences obtained from the 13 mycoplasmal species. The nested PCR, which generated DNA fragments of 165-353 bp, was found to be able to detect 1-2 copies of the target DNA, and evidenced no cross-reactivity with the genomic DNA of related microorganisms or of human cell lines, thereby confirming the sensitivity and specificity of the primers used.
Other studies showed that reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) methods based on detection of the 16S rRNA, which is present in multiple (103–104) copies per bacterial cell [98, 99], are more sensitive than PCR detecting the 16S rDNA. Thus, a direct side-by-side comparison of RT-PCR and PCR targeting the 16S rRNA and the 16S rRNA gene, respectively, demonstrated that RT-PCR was able to provide up to a two-logarithm higher sensitivity of bacteria detection in comparison with the PCR-based assay [90, 100] and the sensitivity provided by RT-PCR is approaching the sensitivity of conventional microbiological culture methods [100]. Therefore, it was suggested that RT-PCR methods targeting the bacterial 16Sor 23S rRNAs are having the real potential to provide the sensitivity of mycoplasma detection close to or even higher than that of conventional culture methods [101].
Recently, the MycoTOOL PCR test kit from Roche (Roche, Diagnostic GmbH, Penzberg, Germany) was approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) for release testing of pharmaceutical products. It is the first commercially available Mycoplasma PCR test that can replace traditional Mycoplasma tests (culture method as well as indicator cell culture method) during pharmaceutical production. In June 2009 the FDA approved the PCR concept of this test for seven commercial products from Genentech. Earlier, Bayer Health Care received approval for a pharmaceutical product from the EMEA and Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) using the same PCR-based test concept. Guidelines describing acceptable protocols for specific PCR methods are provided by the EP and JP. The pharmacopoeias, PTC, and CFR protocols vary with their recommendations on how to conduct the PCR assays.
5.3. Indirect non-specific procedures
Some 'non-cultivable' mycoplasma strains cannot readily be grown on standard agar or broth-culture media [5], and cell-assisted culture is required for their isolation. Cell-culture systems are therefore a valuable ancillary tool for the isolation and detection of mycoplasmas and ʹindicatorcell cultureʹ procedures using either VERO (African green monkey kidney), or NIH 3T3 cell cultures have been developed [102]. These cell lines are susceptible to infection by the majority of mycoplasmas and are therefore a reliable 'indicator' system for detecting mycoplasma infection. These approaches are particularly useful for the identification and detection of mycoplasmas that adhere to host-cell surfaces.
The indirect non-specific procedures require that the tested material will be inoculated directly onto tissue culture cover slips or flasks containing a monolayer of the indicatorcells. The indicator cell culture inoculated with the tested material are than fixed and stained with DNA-binding fluorochromes using bisbenzimidazole (such as Hoechst or DAPI stains) [103].
Identification of contaminating mycoplasma is by visual observation via fluorescent microscopy. Mycoplasmas are detected by their characteristic particulate or filamentous pattern of bright fluorescence on the cell surface (Figure 4) and, if contamination is heavy, in surrounding areas. These procedures are suitable for use with either non-specific DNA stains for detecting mycoplasmas, or in conjunction with mycoplasma-speciation methods, such as by immunofluorescence procedures using species-specific polyclonal antisera, or monoclonal antibodies, conjugated with fluorescein or peroxidase [104]. A wide variety of luminol-dependent chemiluminescence and bioluminescent methods were described [5, 63].
Biochemical identification methods have also been in use [5, 78]. Procedures based on the comparative utilization of uridine versus uracil in contaminated versus mycoplasma-free cell cultures have been suggested [105]. Other methods are based on the detection of enzyme activity present in mycoplasmas, but absent, or minimal in uninfected cell cultures. The enzymic activities measured include: arginine deiminase [62]; thymidine, uridine, adenosine or pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase [102]; hypoxanthine or uracil phosphoribosyl transferase activities [106]. Positive results are based on arbitrary values, making low levels of mycoplasma contamination difficult to detect. Detection kit that provide a new, sensitive and rapid biochemical method was recently presented (Cambrex, Bio Science, Caravaggio, Bergamo, Italy). The test is based on a bioluminescent assay which can be assessed within 20 min for daily determination of the mycoplasma statusof cell cultures. The performance sensitivity and specificity of the kit was evaluated and compared to the PCR/ELISA detection kit (Roche, Diagnostic GmbH, Penzberg, Germany) and the standard culture method [5]. Recently, a simple and inexpensive assay monitoring mycoplasma contamination, based on degradation of the Gaussia luciferase reporter in cell cultures was described [107]. This assay has been shown to be more sensitive for detecting mycoplasma contamination in seven different cell lines as compared to a commercially available bioluminescent assay [107]
6. Eliminating mycoplasmas from infected cultures
Ever since mycoplasma contamination of cell cultures was first reported, attempts have been made to develop methods for the elimination of mycoplasmas, including the use of antibiotics such as tetracycline, kanamycin, novobiocin, tylosin, gentamycin, doxycycline, thiayline and quinolones; surface-active agents;anti-mycoplasma antisera and prolonged heating treatments (40-42 °C) [63, 108]. Eliminating mycoplasmas by passage of a cell culture through nude mice [109] has been successful for some, but not all, mycoplasmas. An efficient procedure for eliminating mycoplasmas is based on the selective incorporation of 5‐bromouracil(5-BrUra) into mycoplasmas, and the induction of breaks by light in the 5-BrUra-containing DNA [110]. The unusually high content of A+T makes the mycoplasma DNA an excellent candidate for the induction of breakage by the combined action of 5-BrUra, 33258-Hoechst and visible light [110]. Some of the elimination procedures may apply to some, but not all, mycoplasma species; some of them are laborious and/or time consuming. It was suggested, therefore, that whenever possible, the infected cell culture should be discarded and replaced with a mycoplasma-free culture [108]. When the cell culture is irreplaceable, the use of antibiotic mixtures, are the commonest approaches. One has to keep in mind that cell-culture contaminants that have been continuously exposed to antibiotics develop resistance to the drug, and antibiotic-resistant strains have been isolated for most
Among the antibiotics that were shown to have strong anti-mycoplasma properties are different inhibitors ofprotein synthesis mainly tetracyclines or macrolides as well as quinolones [111]. The target enzymes of quinolones are considered to be DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV which are essential enzymes for controlling the topological state of DNA in DNA replication and transcription.Most recently the quinolone garenoxacin was found to be a most valuable quinolone in the elimination
The addition of antibiotics to the culture medium during a limited period of time (1-3 wk) is a simple, inexpensive, and very practical approach for decontaminating continuous cell lines. BM-cyclin (trade name of Roche, Mannheim, Germany), a combination of tiamulin and minocycline (both inhibiting protein synthesis), was introduced by Jung et al. [113] who show that three cycles of treatment of a contaminated cell culture with BM-cyclin I (containing the macrolide tiamulin) at a final concentration of 10 μg/ml for 3 days followed by BM-cyclin II (containing the tetracycline minocycline) at a concentration of 5 μg/ml for 4 days completely eradicated mycoplasmal infection from cultured cells [113].
Uphoff and Drexler [111, 114] examined the effectiveness of several quinolones and BM-cycline protocols. The contaminated cell cultures were exposed to one of the following five antibiotic regimens: mycoplasma removal agent (MRA, quinolone; a 1-wk treatment), enrofloxacin (quinolone; 1 wk), sparfloxacin (quinolone; 1 wk), ciprofloxacin (quinolone; 2 wk), and BM-Cyclin (alternating tiamulin and minocycline; 3 wk). The mycoplasma infection was permanently eliminated by the various antibiotics in 66-85% of the cultures treated. Mycoplasma resistance was seen in 7-21%, and loss of the culture as a result of cytotoxically caused cell death occurred in 3-11% of the cultures treated [111, 114].
Recently, MycoZap (trade name of Lonza, Verviers, Belgium) treatment has been introduced as a new therapeutic tool able to overcome the eukaryotic cytotoxicity of fluoroquinolones and BM-Cyclins [115]. MycoZap kit (Lonza, Verviers, Belgium) includes a combination of patented antibiotic and antimetabolic agents. An evaluation of the MycoZap kit performance was recently presented by Mariotti et al., [116] who exposed mycoplasma contaminated cells to the MycoZap protocol and compared the results obtained to the eradication efficiency of enrofloxacin (Fluka, Bio-Chemika,Missouri, USA), MRA (Euroclone, Lugano, Switzerland), ciprofloxacinand theBM-Cyclin protocol. Treatment of contaminated cell cultures by MycoZap, MRA, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin and BM-cycline, eliminated mycoplasma infection by 46%, 29%, 43%, 40% and 57% respectively. The use of an eradication mixture based on a combination of the antibiotics BM-Cyclins, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin and MRA was able to clean 88.6% of the infected cultures, whereas the addition of MycoZap to the eradication mixture resulted in the eradication of mycoplasmas from 100% of the contaminated cell cultures[116].
7. Conclusions
Mycoplasmas are shown to cause various alterations in cultured cells. As described above, some alterations are due to direct effects on the cells by mycoplasma components, and other alterations are due to indirect effects, via inducing the host cell to alter its gene and protein expression and activity. It is important to emphasize the fact that mycoplasmal-altered cell phenotype and function is often observed in specific types of cells under special conditions, e.g., when the cultured cells are exposed to certain agents. The detection of mycoplasma contamination, and the identification of the factors and pathways involved in the mycoplasmal effects are thus of utmost importance in handling cultured cells, including using stem cells for differentiation to specific tissues.
Acknowledgement
Figure 1A is a courtesy of S. Razin, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School and Figure 1B is a courtesy of A. M. Collier, The University of North Carolina School of Medicine. We would like to thank M. Tarshis for the confocal microscopy.
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