N2A, MCF7, and HepG2 Cells Support Intracellular Replication of Coxiella burnetii.

Coxiella burnetii is a gram-negative, obligate, intracellular bacterial pathogen that causes zoonotic Q fever in humans. In a mammalian host, C. burnetii may infect macrophage, heart, brain, liver, and placental cells. C. burnetii is routinely cultured in HeLa (human cervical) and Vero (African green monkey kidney) cells for research, but these cell types poorly reflect the natural replicative niche. Here we report the first evidence of C. burnetii , Nine Mile Phase II, replication in N2A (mouse neuronal), HepG2 (human hepatocyte), and MCF7 (human mammary epithelial) cells. These findings will enable further comparative study of C. burnetii cytopathology and infection dynamics in various cell types.