Enhanced Virus Yields and Decreased Interferon Production in Mycoplasma-Infected Hamster Cells

Summary

The effects of mycoplasma infection on interferon production were studied in hamster embryo fibroblasts. Both mycoplasmas chosen for investigation, M. arginini and M. kyorhinis, were able to replicate and establish a chronic infection in these cells. Neither mycoplasma was able to induce interferon by itself. However, both caused a pronounced decrease in the amount of interferon induced by a virus (Semliki Forest virus) and in the amount of viral resistance induced by a synthetic complexed RNA (polyinosinic and polycytidilic acid). In addition to depressing interferon production, mycoplasma infection rendered the cells less sensitive to exogenously supplied interferon. Viral transcription, however, was not impaired. Rather, under the appropriate conditions, enhanced SFV yields could be obtained from cultures previously infected with mycoplasma.