The Development of L Phase Variants of Pathogenic 'Neisseria' and Their Pathogenicity in Experimental Animals.
Abstract
Observations on the direct correlation between susceptibility to penicillin and rate of induction to L phase have been made on 230 fresh clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae. Approximately 25% of the strains were susceptible to 0.03 u/ml of penicillin and transformed to L phase at a low rate; i.e., less than 1/10,000. On the other hand, 37% of the strains were resistant to penicillin (MIC greater than 0.15 u/ml) and transformed to L phase at a high rate; i.e., greater than 1/100,000. Strains of intermediate susceptibility (0.03 - 0.1 u/ml) transformed to L phase in a random fashion. The same 230 strains were tested for their susceptibility to penicillin on hypertonic media. Sensitive strains were found to be more susceptible on osmotically stabilized media, whereas resistant strains showed no difference in MIC on hypertonic or non-hypertonic media. These results suggest that resistance to penicillin among gonococci may be related to a cell wall alteration which results in decreased permeability to the drug. (Modified author abstract)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 19, 1974
- Accession Number
- AD0778359
Entities
People
- Marjorie A. Bohnhoff
Organizations
- University of Chicago