A tissue culture study of the chick fibroblast in relation to streptococcal filtrates and rheumatic heart disease.

Marked degeneration and disintegration of the chick embryo fibroblast was observed in tissue cultures after their exposure to sera of patients with active or inactive rheumatic heart disease or to the filtrates of beta hemolytic streptococci. Some tissue specificity was demonstrated; sera of the patients or the filtrates of the streptococci failed to affect contractility of the myocardial cells or secretion of the mesonephros. Sera of normal control humans or of patients with other so-called collagen diseases did not seriously affect the fibroblasts. Filtrates of nine other bacteria failed to alter the morphology of the fibroblasts unless severe toxicity was present and the tissue culture died.