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A Pap smear from a woman with chronic cervicitis shows cytoplasmic inclusions within epithelial cells. Fluorescent
antibodies identify both these inclusions and "elementary bodies." The intracellular organisms causing the
infection are unusual because they cannot synthesize which of the following?
A. ATP
B. Cholesterol
C. DNA
D. Proteins
E. RNA
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chlamydia cx...obligate i/c org..cant synth ATP.
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The correct answer is A. The disease is chlamydial cervicitis. This venereally transmitted infection is usually
suspected after treatment for gonorrhea fails to relieve symptoms. However, a few cases are picked up when
cytoplasmic inclusions composed of aggregates of chlamydia are identified on Pap smears. Confirmation can
be made with fluorescent antibodies that pick up both the aggregates and individual bacteria known as
"elementary bodies." The organisms are obligate intracellular parasites because they have lost the ability to
synthesize ATP. Although some authors consider them to be "bacteria," others do not, since this is such a
fundamental difference between the chlamydia and free living bacteria.
