In-Vitro Study of Host Range of Three Isolates of Encephalitozoon (Nosema)

Replication of three Encephalitozoon isolates obtained from mice, hamsters, and a rabbit were compared in primary and established cell cultures prepared from rabbits, mice, and hamsters, and from canine embryos. Fifty- to 100-fold replication of each isolate occurred in rabbit choroid plexus and canine embryo cells and two- to fivefold replication occurred in primary mouse-kidney cells. Statistically significant replication of the rabbit isolate in rabbit kidney cells and the mouse isolate in hamster glial cells was also noted. A small number of infected cells was observed in all cultures, including those in which no significant replication was demonstrated. Lightly infected cultures were characterized by fewer infected cells with approximately the same number of organisms per cell as heavily infected cultures.