[Use of germ-free mice in experimental transplantation]. / Ispol'zovanie myshei, svobodnykh ot patogennoi flory, v éksperimental'noi transplantologii.

A comparative study of skin allografts was performed in germ-free A/Ola mice kept in boxes and in A/Ola and BALB mice raised in ordinary conditions. Skin graft (of C57B1/6 mice) in A/Ola and BALB mice raised in ordinary conditions was shown to reject 16-21 and 12-18 days after the transplantation, respectively without cyclophosphamide (CP) use. CP application in BALB mice, grown in ordinary conditions, prolonged the lifespan of grafts to 12-29 days. The use of CP in germ-free A/Ola mice prolonged the lifespan of grafts to 19-39 days. In germ-free mice kept in boxes the use of an immunodepressant was not accompanied by infectious complications, while the animals kept in the vivarium often died of infectious diseases.

[Effect of different diets on blood protein indices in gnotobionts]. / Vliianie razlichnykh diet na belkovye pokazateli krovi u gnotobiontov.

The protein content in the diet affects the amount of serum protein and fraction distribution in gnotobiots. Germ-free pigs and guinea-pigs which received the diet containing the least amount of protein showed an abrupt decrease in the total protein level in blood serum. As regards the content of alpha- and beta-globulins, no significant differences were found in blood serum of experimental animals. The amount of alpha-blobulin in germ-free animals which received the protein-deficient diet was 1 1/2-2 times higher than in those which received protein in an amount meeting the physiological requirements. It was established that 4-8% of protein in the diet of 2-month-old germ-free pigs and 14-18% in the diet of germ-free guinea-pigs favour the normal growth and development of experimental animals.