Growth of Chlamydia trachomatis in McCoy cells treated with cytochalasin B

When the fungal metabolite cytochalasin B was added to McCoy cells, multinucleated giant cells developed. Monolayers of these cells proved as efficient as irradiated cells for the growth of three different serotypes of Chlamydia trachomatis and for the primary isolation of chlamydiae from clinical specimens obtained from patients attending a venereal disease clinic. Cytochalasin treatment of McCoy cells provides a convenient alternative to irradiation and should be of value in the isolation of chlamydiae from the eye and genital tract.