Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2014
Publication Title
BioMed Research International
Abstract
Mycoplasma contamination of cultured cell lines is difficult to detect by routine observation. Infected cells can display normal morphology and the slow growth rate of mycoplasma can delay detection for extended periods of time, compromising experimental results. Positive identification of mycoplasma typically requires cells to be either fixed and stained for DNA or processed with PCR. We present a method to detect mycoplasma using live-cell optical microscopy typically used for routine observation of cell cultures. Images of untreated mycoplasma-infected epithelial cells alongside images of infected cells treated with Plasmocin, a commercially available antibiotic targeted to mycoplasma, are shown. We found that optical imaging is an effective screening tool for detection of mycoplasma contamination. Importantly, we found that cells regained normal function after the contamination was cleared. In conclusion, we present a technique to diagnose probable mycoplasma infections in live cultures without fixation, resulting in faster response times and decreased loss of cell material.
Repository Citation
Boslett, Brianna; Nag, Subhra; and Resnick, Andrew, "Detection and Antibiotic Treatment of Mycoplasma Arginini Contamination in A Mouse Epithelial Cell Line Restore Normal Cell Physiology" (2014). Physics Faculty Publications. 244.
https://engagedscholarship.csuohio.edu/sciphysics_facpub/244
DOI
10.1155/2014/532105
Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Comments
This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health R15 DK092716 Award.