[Effect of Mycoplasma arthritidis and Rauscher leukosis virus on murine peritoneal macrophages in vitro and in vivo].

The interaction of M. arthritidis and Rauscher leukemia virus (RLV) with mouse peritoneal macrophages was studied. When added in vitro, M. arthritidis was shown to exert cytopathic effect on macrophages obtained from normal BALB/c or CBA mice (highly sensitive to RLV) and BAF1 hybrid mice (resistant to RLV) after 4-6 hours of incubation. Macrophages obtained from BALB/c or BAF1 mice infected in vivo with M. arthritidis were functionally defective beginning from day 7. The infection of BALB/c mice with RLV also suppressed the spreading of macrophages, while the infection of RLV-resistant BAF1 mice with the virus did not reduce the spreading and phagocytic activity of peritoneal macrophages on days 1-105. The mixed infection of BALB/c or BAF1 mice with M. arthritidis and RLV markedly reduced the spreading and phagocytic activity of macrophages beginning from day 7. This data is in agreement with earlier findings on the ability of M. arthritidis to stimulate Rauscher leukemia in BAF1 mice. The possible role of M. arthritidis in the mechanism of viral leukemogenesis is discussed.