Electron microscopy of the L-cycle in Bacillus licheniformis var. endoparasiticus (Benedek) (Plates XXXVI-XL)

Abstract

RECENT STUDIES in this laboratory (Bisset and Bartlett, 1978;Bartlett and Bisset, 1979) appear to confirm the view of Roberts (1964) and Pease (1974) that the spheroplasts and 'diphtheroid' bacteria, described by many workers, as occurring notably in patients with arthritis and cancer, are phases in the L-cycle of a BaciZZus species, diagnosed in this laboratory as B. lichenformis var. endoparasiticus, (Benedek), abbreviated as BLE (Bisset, 1977). These forms can be isolated from the blood of many normal persons, and their true nature is indicated by occasional reversions to the sporogenous phase, in primary cultures incubated for prolonged periods (Bisset and Bartlett, 1978). Various substances, notably hog gastric mucin and diaminopimelic acid, induce an increased rate of reversion (Bartlett and Bisset, 1979).Accurate descriptions of the life-cycle of this organism have been published on several occasions in the past half-century. Those, for example of Glover ( 1930) and Brehmer (1 934), correspond closely with our own observations, and references to numerous, less satisfactory but perfectly recognisable, descriptions are listed by the contributors to a Symposium (1970) and by Mattman (1974). These have failed to carry conviction for two reasons; they are advanced as discoveries of the microbial pathogen of cancer or, less frequently, arthritis and other conditions, which they may or may not be, but for which no real proof is available; secondly, the essentially simple and normal behaviour of the bacillus, passing through its L-cycle, has not been understood by the investigators, who have been misled into descriptions of new, hitherto unknown types of micro-organism, with newly coined names. These were not acceptable to bacteriologists generally.The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate by electron microscopy of sections the structure of the L-form and intermediate stages, to illustrate their relationship to one another, to the normal BaciZZus stage, and to other bacteria. MATERIALS AND METHODSBacteria. The organism mainly employed was a strain of BLE isolated from normal human erythrocytes (Bisset and Bartlett, 1978); it simultaneously produced spheroplasts and bacilli in

Isolation of Bacillus licheniformis var. endoparasiticus from the blood of rheumatoid arthritis patients and normal subjects

“…It has been postulated that chronic infection with bacterial L-forms or mycoplasma may contribute to the failure of normal immunological recognition of tissues and the production of autoantibodies in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (Pease, 1965(Pease, , 1967Brown, Clark and Bailey, 1975). Diphtheroids (Stewart, Alexander and Duthie, 1969;Duthie, Stewart and McBride, 1976) and Mycoplasma (Bartholomew, 1965;Jansson et al, 1971) have been isolated more often from synovial membranes and fluids of than one culture was made from a single sample, they were labelled sequentially at the time of inoculation.…”

“…It has been postulated that chronic infection with bacterial L-forms or mycoplasma may contribute to the failure of normal immunological recognition of tissues and the production of autoantibodies in autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis (Pease, 1965(Pease, , 1967Brown, Clark and Bailey, 1975 rheumatoid arthritis patients than from those of patients with non-rheumatoid joint conditions. Bartholomew and Nelson (1972) have reported a higher isolation rate of the anaerobic or microaerophilic "Corynebacterium acnes" from the blood of rheumatoid patients than from non-rheumatoids.…”