Zeigel R F, Clark H F
Infect Immun. 1974 Feb;9(2):430-43. doi: 10.1128/iai.9.2.430-443.1974.
The suckling mouse cataract agent (SMCA) is a filtrable (<220 nm), noncultivable agent isolated from ticks in Georgia in 1961. It grows to high titer in the eyes and brains of intracerebrally inoculated mice in which it induces cataract, uveitis, and chronic brain infection. SMCA in high titer may also be recovered from the tissues of embryonated hen eggs in which the infection is lethal within 4 to 9 days. Fine-structural studies of ultrathin sections of pellets obtained by ultracentrifugation of SMCA-infected egg allantoic fluids have revealed pleomorphic structures with morphological characteristics typical of mycoplasma. Similar organisms have been observed in egg allantoic fluids infected with an SMCA-related tick isolate, GT-48, but not in fluids from uninoculated control eggs. Mycoplasma-like entities were also observed in high concentration within retinal tissues of rats and mice studied at the time of maximal retinitis and uveitis after SMCA inoculation. Comparable tissues from normal mouse eyes were free of microorganisms. These fine-structural observations are in agreement with those reported by other investigators and suggest that SMCA-induced pathology is associated with an agent that resembles mycoplasma in size and morphology but differs from typical mycoplasma in its apparent non-cultivability on artificial media and its resistance to inactivation by broad-spectrum antibiotics.
乳鼠白内障病原体（SMCA）是一种可滤过（<220 nm）、不可培养的病原体，于1961年从佐治亚州的蜱中分离得到。它在脑内接种的小鼠的眼睛和大脑中大量增殖，可诱导白内障、葡萄膜炎和慢性脑部感染。高滴度的SMCA也可从感染后4至9天内致死的鸡胚组织中分离得到。对经超速离心处理的感染SMCA的鸡胚尿囊液沉淀物超薄切片的精细结构研究显示，存在具有支原体典型形态特征的多形性结构。在感染与SMCA相关的蜱分离株GT - 48的鸡胚尿囊液中也观察到了类似的生物体，但在未接种的对照鸡胚的尿囊液中未观察到。在接种SMCA后发生最大程度视网膜炎和葡萄膜炎时研究的大鼠和小鼠的视网膜组织中也观察到高浓度的类支原体实体。正常小鼠眼睛的相应组织中没有微生物。这些精细结构观察结果与其他研究者的报告一致，表明SMCA诱导的病理学与一种在大小和形态上类似于支原体，但在人工培养基上明显不可培养且对广谱抗生素灭活具有抗性，因而不同于典型支原体的病原体有关。
