Interaction of Rickettsia prowazekii strains of different virulence with white rat macrophages.

The growth of mildly pathogenic strain E, its virulent revertant EVir, and prototype virulent strain Breinl of Rickettsia prowazekii in peritoneal macrophage cultures of outbread white rats (WR) was evaluated by light microscopy and bioassay in chick embryos (CE). Macrophage cultures infected with strain E were characteristic by limited number of infected cells, poor or moderate accumulation of rickettsiae in individual cells, poor or nil spread of infectious process during first 7 days of infection, and the death of rickettsiae in cultures as determined by the bioassay in CE. Moreover, rickettsiae were not determined in 20.7% of infected macrophage cultures by either microscopic or bioassay methods. In contrast, the growth of virulent strains EVir and Breinl was characteristic by higher proportion of infected cells, considerable accumulation of rickettsiae, and intensive spread of infectious process within 5-7 days post infection (p.i.). However, the intensity of infectious process in macrophage cultures was less expressed with strain EVir than with strain Breinl.