Showing papers in "Zhurnal mikrobiologii epidemiologii i immunobiologii in 1984"

Pyocin typing of Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains

Abstract: The possibility of using the typing of P. aeruginosa strains by their pyocins as one of the epidemiological markers in the study of P. aeruginosa hospital infections has been established. As this method of typing is characterized by certain variability, the authors propose that the method of the "cross analysis" of pyocins produced by P. aeruginosa strains be used simultaneously. This method is based on the following phenomenon: if the cultures to be compared are different, the pyocin produced by one strain suppresses the growth of the other one, and if the cultures are identical, no suppression of their growth by pyocins is observed.

Effectiveness of revaccinating hamadryas baboons with NISS live dried plague vaccine and fraction I of the plague microbe

Abstract: The effectiveness of some vaccine preparations for the revaccination of hamadryas baboons after their primary immunization with live plague vaccine " NIIS " administered in the form of aerosol was studied. The study was carried out under the conditions of the aerosol challenge of the animals with Y. pestis. The subcutaneous injection of plague vaccine " NIIS " was found to have advantages over its aerosol administration. Revaccination with Y. pestis fraction I, absorbed, was found to be 8 times more effective than the administration of plague vaccine " NIIS " by inhalation and not inferior to the subcutaneous injection of this vaccine. Y. pestis lipopolysaccharide, when injected simultaneously with fraction I, produced an immunosuppressive effect. The development of chemical plague vaccine on the basis of fraction I, intended for revaccination, was shown to have good prospects.

Immunity to diphtheria and tetanus in some of the administrative territories of the RSFSR

Abstract: The article deals with the state of immunity to diphtheria and tetanus among the adult population in some administrative regions of the RSFSR. Of the children and adults covered by the survey, 91.3-96.7% were found to have protective antibody titers against diphtheria and 98.7-100%, against tetanus. An essential drop in the level of immunity to diphtheria in persons over 18 years of age was revealed: 71.7% of them were nonimmune, which correlated with the high morbidity rate among these persons. At the same time the percentage of adults nonimmune to tetanus was considerably lower than that of adults nonimmune to diphtheria, reaching only 27.1%. The state of immunity to tetanus in adults was found to depend on the seasons.

Effect of cucumarioside (a triterpene glycoside from the holothurian Cucumaria japonica) on the development of an immune response in mice to corpuscular pertussis vaccine

Abstract: The influence of cucumarioside, triterpene glycoside obtained from Cucumaria japonica (Echinodermata, Holoturioidea), or sea cucumbers, on the resistance of mice to Bordetella pertussis infection (with the use experimental pertussis meningoencephalitis as a model) and on the development of immune response to corpuscular pertussis vaccine was studied. The preparation under test was shown to have greatly pronounced immunomodulating properties depending on both the concentration of cucumarioside and the route of its administration, as well as on the dose of pertussis vaccine. When administered orally in a dose of 4 micrograms per mouse and intraperitoneally in doses of 0.04 and 0.0004 micrograms, cucumarioside enhanced the protective effect of corpuscular pertussis vaccine. The use of cucumarioside in a dose of 0.001 micrograms per mouse abolished the suppressive action of large doses of pertussis vaccine in the background rosette-formation test at an early period after immunization and increased number of immune rosettes formed by lymphocytes in the spleen of mice immunized with different doses of the corpuscular vaccine.

Data from the serological examination of the population of the Republic of Congo for the presence of antibodies to orthopoxviruses. I. A comparative evaluation of different study methods and general results

Abstract: The selective survey of the population of the Republic of Congo for the presence of antibodies to orthopoxviruses has been carried out with the use of the neutralization test, the hemagglutination inhibition (HAI) test and the ELISA. Despite a prolonged period (15 years) elapsed since the transmission of natural smallpox stopped in this country and despite the almost complete cessation of immunization against this infection since 1977, antibodies to orthopoxviruses can be detected in a considerable proportion of the population: 29%. This percentage grows as older age groups are examined, reaching 90.6% in the age groups of 16 years and over. Antibodies to orthopoxviruses have also been detected in children under 5 years of age, born after the eradication of smallpox and having no vaccination scars. The possible causes of this phenomenon are discussed. The comparison of the results obtained with the use of different tests has confirmed high sensitivity of ELISA. The HAI test is less sensitive, but this is compensated by its simplicity and its easy use for screening procedures. Besides, the positive results of this test indicate that the corresponding sera contain sufficiently high titers of virus-neutralizing antibodies detected by means of ELISA, which is of importance for their subsequent interspecific differentiation.

Method of determining the antilysozyme activity of microorganisms

Abstract: FIELD: microbiology SUBSTANCE: method can be used for predicting reconvalescent germ carrying, for microbiological monitoring of anthropogenous environmental pollution, disbiosis diagnostics, and for studying effect of drugs on persistent characteristics of microorganisms For that, culture under examination is grown in liquid nutrient medium, supernatant is separated, incubated with lysozyme, whereupon resultant mixture is added to suspension of test culture Micrococcus lysodeikticus preliminarily treated with Trilon B, and optical density of combined mixture is measured Extent of lysis of Micrococcus test culture suspension is calculated by the aid of formula EFFECT: enhanced efficiency of determining antilysozyme activity of microorganisms due to accelerated and more accurate evaluation technique

Electron microscopic study of the interaction of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis with macrophages and HeLa cells

Abstract: The comparative electron-microscopic study of early stages of the interaction of Y. pseudotuberculosis virulent strain (No. 282) with "professional" (macrophages) and "nonprofessional" (HeLa cells) phagocytes has been carried out. The character of the intimate mechanism of this interaction has been found to be essentially different. The common feature for both systems is the adsorption of bacteria and their penetration into cells due to phagocytosis. But the subsequent fate of Y. pseudotuberculosis is different. In HeLa cells they are isolated from the cytoplasm by multilayer membrane structures, thus remaining morphologically intact. In macrophages the destruction of the microbe in phagolysosomes occurs.

Isolation of the L forms of Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var. Lwoffii in infectious endocarditis

Abstract: In the bacteriological study of blood samples taken from a patient with infectious endocarditis the hemoculture of the L-forms of A. calcoaceticus, var. lwoffii, was isolated. This hemoculture reverted into the bacterial form in the process of subculturing on solid media. The species of the isolated L-forms was established on the basis of the data obtained in the study of the biological properties of the revertants. To ensure the effectiveness of bacteriological investigations, a special search for atypical cultures is recommended in those cases when the inoculation of blood samples yields negative results.

Pleuropneumonia caused by Pseudomonas stutzeri

Abstract: Biological characteristics and antibiotic sensitivity of P. stutzeri strain, isolated from a child with pleuropneumonia, are presented. Formation of rugous colonies, growth at 41 degrees C and in the presence of 6.5% of NaCl, the positive results of the oxidase and nitrate reductase tests, the negative signs of arginine hydrolase and lysine decarboxylase activity permit the identification of this Pseudomonas species. The isolated culture has proved to be sensitive to amino glycoside antibiotics, carbonicillin and polymyxin.

Neuraminidase activity of staphylococci

Abstract: 141 S aureus and S epidermidis strains, isolated from the personnel of obstetric wards by taking smears from the anterior sections of the nose, have been tested for their capacity for neuraminidase production The test has been carried out by the thiobarbiturate method in a medium with ovomucin added Neuraminidase activity has been found to be characteristic mostly of S aureus strains isolated from constant carriers

[Protective activity of a cell-free Klebsiella vaccine in relation to different Klebsiella pneumoniae serovars].

Abstract: The capacity of dried Klebsiella cell-free vaccine, obtained from strain No. 204 by the disintegration of microbial cells with hydroxylamine, for protecting mice from Klebsiella septic infection caused by the homologous serovar and 9 heterologous serovars of K. pneumoniae was studied. The newly developed preparation was found capable of stimulating immunity not only to the homologous K. pneumoniae serovar, but also to other K. pneumoniae heterologous serovars: K1, K9, K11, K16, K20, K61. The protective capacity of the preparation with respect to these serovars was not inferior to that of the vaccines prepared by the same method from the corresponding homologous strains. The capacity of the vaccine to protect mice from Klebsiella sepsis was manifested irrespective of the virulence of the strains used for challenge.

Determination of the bactericidal strength of alveolar macrophages by using the NBT test

Abstract: The NBT test on alveolar macrophages can be used for the indirect evaluation of their bactericidal potency. This test has made it possible to show that the development of the tuberculous process in the lungs is characterized by the increasing intensity of the reduction of NBT by alveolar macrophages, which indirectly indicates their considerable bactericidal potency. But 3-4 weeks after infection macrophages, though capable of considerable bactericidal action, do not react to stimulation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

[Properties of Escherichia coli alpha-hemolysin].

Abstract: SH-reagents (alpha-ethyl maleimide, n-chlor mercuribenzoate, dithioglycolic acid) and hydrogen peroxide induce insignificant changes in the activity of hemolysin. Reducing reagents (2-mercaptoethanol and ascorbate) inhibit hemolytic activity. Cholesterol at a concentration of 4.3 X 10(-5) M reduces this activity by 50%. Hemolysin has no phospholipase A activity. The energy necessary for activating the interaction of hemolysin with the membranes of erythrocytes (lag period) is 13800 cal/mol and for inducing the lysis of erythrocytes, 10 600 cal/mol. The above values are much less than those of O-labile hemolysins.

Fermentative mechanisms of the psychrophilicity of Yersinia tuberculosis

Abstract: The specific activity of urease, nitrogenase, hialuronidase and neuraminidase in Y. pseudotuberculosis grown in different culture media and at different temperature has been studied. These enzymes have been found capable of functioning at both relatively low (2-8 degrees C) and high (37 degrees C) temperatures. The thermoadaptive properties of Y. pseudotuberculosis within a wide range of temperatures are ensured by the constant presence of isoenzymes, functioning only at low temperatures or only at high temperatures, in the microbial cells. Low temperature in combination with a definite culture medium triggers the activity of certain enzymatic systems, which explains, to some extent, the biochemical mechanisms of the psychrophilic properties of Y. pseudotuberculosis.

Effect of gamma radiation on the immunobiological and immunochemical properties of cholera exotoxin. IV. The biological and immunochemical properties of purified irradiated choleragen

Abstract: The results of investigations carried out to study the effect of gamma radiation on the properties of the purified preparations of cholera exotoxin are presented. Irradiation has been shown to decrease the anterotoxicity of purified choleragen and the activity of its permeability factor, depending on the radiation dose. The investigations have revealed that in purified toxin enterotoxicity is completely inactivated with a lover radiation dose than in crude toxin filtrate (25 kGy). In immunochemical reactions the increase of the electrophoretic mobility of the choleragen components, correlated with the increase of the radiation dose, and the reduced number of protein zones have been observed. The irradiated preparations of purified choleragen have been found to retain their immunogenic properties and serological activity.

Mapping method in the epidemiological study of infections and infestations. II. Soil characteristics in localities permanently at risk for anthrax

Abstract: Investigations carried out with the use of the mapping method have revealed that the distribution of localities with stationary unfavorable situation in anthrax throughout the area is linked with the agrochemical properties of soils. The number of the foci of anthrax on neutral and weakly alkaline soils has proved to be considerably higher than in soils with low pH values. No relationship between the content of humus in soils and the distribution of localities with stationary unfavorable situation in anthrax throughout the area has been detected. The results of investigations carried out with the use of the mapping method permit experts to make forecasts and to examine the ecological aspects of the projects carried out in the area.

Immunotyping of freshly isolated strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

Abstract: During 1972-1982 the bacteriological study of 1391 patients with thermal burns was carried out. As the result of clinico-bacteriological studies, the occurrence of P. aeruginosa was found to increase from 39.3% to 70.5% during this period. The immunotyping of P. aeruginosa cultures isolated in 3 burn-treatment centers showed that strains belonging to immunotypes 2, 3, 7 and 3/7 were most frequently isolated from burn wounds. These strains were found to be the cause of hospital infections in burn-treatment hospitals. In connection with the data thus obtained immunological preparations intended for the prophylaxis and treatment of P. aeruginosa infection should include P. aeruginosa strains, immunotypes 2, 3, 7 and 3/7.

Antigenic properties of nitro aromatic derivatives of polyethylene glycol

Abstract: The immunogenic properties of the dihapten and monohapten derivatives of polyethylene glycol with different nitroaromatic groupings were studied. 2,4-dinitrophenyl, 2, 4, 6-trinitrophenyl and trinitrophenyl-ethyl groupings were used as hapten groups. The injection of monohapten compounds was found to induce the accumulation of antibody-forming cells secreting antibodies to trinitrophenyl in the spleen of normal and athymic nude mice. As early as on day 3 the number of antibody-forming cells considerably exceeded their background level, the process of B-cell activation being, to a certain extent, thymus-independent. Dihapten compounds were not immunologically active. The effect rendered by the nitroaromatic derivatives of polyethylene glycol, revealed in this study, is linked with the known capacity of polyethylene glycol to adsorb on the surface of cell membranes.

[Action of cysteine hydrochloride in the body on the immune response and the formation of antigen-antibody complexes].

Abstract: The present work demonstrates that the injection of cysteine hydrochloride, a reducing agent, into animals has a pronounced effect on the character of immune response to proteinaceous antigen (bovine serum albumin): the formation of antibodies is enhanced, the synthesis of IgM is prevented from being changed over to the synthesis of IgG, the time of the circulation of free antigen is reduced and the time of their circulation in the blood is increased.

Cathepsin D activity in splenocytes in relation to Shigella virulence in an experiment

Abstract: The overtime study of changes in the activity of cathepsin D, a lysosomal enzyme, in the splenocytes of CBA mice after their infection with virulent and avirulent Shigella strains of the same origin and with the same antigenic structure has been made. As the result of two months of observations, changes in the activity of this enzyme in the cytoplasmic and lysosomal cell fractions have been found to occur in phases. The activity of cathepsin D has been shown to depend on the virulence of Shigella strains used for inoculation. Virulent Shigella strains induce the pronounced and prolonged activation of the enzyme in the lysosomes, as well as in the cytoplasm. The latter phenomenon is probably indicative of the pathological labilization of the lysosomal membranes, induced by the virulent culture. Avirulent Shigella strains induce only the transient activity of the enzyme in the lysosomes without any essential changes in the permeability of their membranes. These data point to the possibility of differentiating virulent and avirulent Shigella strains by the determination of the enzymatic activity of splenocytes in infected animals.

Taxonomic significance of the fatty acid composition of bacteria of the genera Bordetella and Haemophilus

Abstract: Bacteria of the species B. parapertussis and B. bronchiseptica have proved to be identical in their fatty-acid composition with a high level (35.7-39%) of methylene-hexadecanoic acid, found to be absent in B. pertussis in experimental conditions. At the same time the total content of methylene-hexadecanoic acid and its biosynthetic precursor, hexadecenoic acid, in the first two Bordetella species is similar to the content of hexadecenoic acid in B. pertussis, which, along with the presence of common characteristics in the sign under consideration (the low level of C18:1), indicates the close relationship of these three Bordetella species. Bacteria of the species H. influenzae, H. parainfluenzae, H. aegyptius, H. aphrophilus have similar fatty-acid composition with the prevalence of hexadecanoic and hexadecenoic acids and the low level of fatty acids with 18 carbon atoms. The data on fatty-acid composition may suggest the presence of philogenetic links between the genera Bordetella and Haemophilus.

[Characteristics of the reasons for the varying epidemic manifestation of tick-borne encephalitis foci in western Siberia and the Far East].

Abstract: Viral strains from the foci of tick-borne encephalitis in Western Siberia and the Far East, producing the disease which takes the clinical course of different severity, have been shown to possess similar biological properties. A high mortality rate in the foci of tick-borne encephalitis in the Primorye Territory is the consequence of the weak latent immunization of the population, which is due, in its turn, to some specific features of the epizootic process in this area.

Models for the study of the toxic action of Legionella pneumophila

Abstract: L. pneumophila virulent culture and the filtrate of this culture disintegrated with ultrasound were shown to be toxic for guinea-pig peritoneal macrophages in vitro and for AKR mice. The virulent culture of this infective agent and the filtrate of the supernatant fluid obtained from the washings of its virulent culture had no toxic effect on a macrophage monolayer culture and on mice. The use of these models for characterizing Legionella intracellular toxic activity, as well as for characterizing Legionella strains isolated from patients and the environment, is proposed.

[Focal nature of tularemia along the course of the Irtysh-Karaganda Canal].

Abstract: The results of the epizootological survey of the track of the Irtysh-Karaganda canal for tularemia for the period of 1971-1982 are presented. Out of 928 fecal samples from mouse-hunting birds, 16 contained the specific antigen. From Arctic shrews a strain of Francisella tularensis was isolated.