Selective infection of astrocytes by Chlamydia trachomatis in primary mixed neuron-glial cell cultures.

Both human biovars of Chlamydia trachomatis were able to productively infect primary cultures of fetal rat brain cells. Infected brain cells released bacteria that reinfected McCoy cells well as other cultured brain cells. The chlamydiae infected cultured astrocytes but were never observed to grow inside neurons, suggesting a selective susceptibility of specific brain cells to chlamydial infections.