Comparison of the morphology and the reactivity of Chlamydia pneumoniae isolated in north-Kanto Area, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan

To compare the morphology among Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae), strain TW183 and strains which were isolated in the area of Kasumigaura, Ibaraki from 1992 to 1995. C. pneumoniae were infected on HL cell monolayers and cultured in 5% CO2 at 35.5 degrees C for about 60 hrs. The cells were harvested and fixed with 2.5% glutaraldehyde, and then the regular procedure for observation of Chlamydia in inclusion by transmission electron microscope was performed. Immunoblot assay was carried out by using highly and partially purified C. pneumoniae TW183 and 4 isolates with partial purification as antigens. The results were as follows: the shape of TW183 and the isolates included pear and round shapes, respectively. Immunoblotting profiles were the same in terms of band-formation patterns with the serum from a patient infected with C. pneumoniae. These results may indicate that the round shape of C. pneumoniae elementary body (EB) is predominantly pandemic in Japan, although pear-shaped EBs of C. pneumoniae were found in the neighboring prefecture of Chiba.