Observations on the occurrence of mycoplasmas in the central nervous system of some laboratory animals.

Mycoplasma pulmonis was isolated from the brains of 6 (23%) of 26 mice which had a naturally-occurring respiratory infection with this mycoplasma, and from the brains of 6 (8%) of 71 mice which had been inoculated intranasally or intravenously. The incidence of natural infection was greater in older mice, but there was no obvious mouse strain difference except for higher incidence in athymic nudes. There was no evidence that the organisms passed the blood-brain barrier. Some isolations, especially from nudes, may have been extraneous contaminants, as these were fewer when the mouse skulls were sterilized with ignited methanol. M. pneumoniae was not isolated from the brains of 14 hamsters which had a respiratory infection after intranasal inoculation nor were ureaplasmas isolated from the cerebrospinal fluids of 12 marmosets with a natural oropharyngeal infection. The aetiology of M. pneumoniae encephalitis in man is discussed.