[Accelerated aging of immune system of the veterans of special risk subdivisions].

Long far after nuclear weapons tests the veterans of special risk subdivisions (SRS) had changes of humoral factors of nonspecific protection, concentration of immunoglobulins in blood serum, lymphocytes sensibleness to respiratory viruses, humoral and cellular autoimmune displacements, raise of turmonecrotic factor content. Some of the revealed changes (complement, lysocim, concentration of immunoglobulins) are bound up with elderly age of examined people and their diseases. The other changes (autoimmune displacements, sensibleness to respiratory viruses) can be bound up with nuclear weapons tests. Some immunology changes occur because of radiation and non-radiation factors, a nervous shock being among them. Estimate of autoimmune changes is important for the health characteristic 20-40 years after nuclear tests and possible radiation influence. The role of such changes is significant in a sick rate of the veterans of special risk subdivisions.

[Autoimmune disorders in liqvidators 11 years after the Chernobyl accident]. / Autoimmunye sdvigi u likvidatorov cherez 11 let posle avarii na ChAES.

We studied long-lasting consequences of the low-doses irradiation on the immune system of 71 clean-up workers who participated in the emergency work after the Chernobyl Plant accident in 1986 and 25 healthy donors from Belarus. In sera of the workers the level of autoantibodies to thyroid gland antigens (thyroglobulin and microsomal fraction of thyroid gland) was increased in 48% of cases, the level of autoantibodies to lens oculis antigen was increased in 44% of cases; the level of circulating immune complexes was elevated in 55%, and the serum level of thyroglobulin in 60% of people. Immunological disorders were found without any definite clinical evidences of diseases and this allows us to consider the examined contingent as a group of risk for the development of autoimmune pathology in the future.

[Atherogenesis and the acute-phase reaction of the liver]. / Aterogenez i reaktsiia "ostroi fazy" pecheni.

Data from literature are given on the role of "acute phase" proteins in inflammation and their connection with lipoproteins. Intensive production of acute phase proteins is shown to take place in modelling of experimental atherosclerosis. The hypothesis is proposed that allows to consider the acute phase reaction of the liver as a very important condition of modified lipoproteins formation acquiring autoantigenic properties.

[The role of immunological changes in diseases in regions contaminated by radionuclides after the accident at the Chernobyl Atomic Electric Power Station]. / O roli immunologicheskikh izmenenii pri nekotorykh zabolevaniiakh v raionakh, zagriaznennykh radionuklidami posle avarii na ChAES.

Autoimmune deviations, both humoral and cellular, related to antigens of thyroid gland, microsomes and thyroglobulin, were observed in residents of controlled districts of Bryansk and Tula regions of Russia. The importance of these deviations at hyperplasia of thyroid gland was demonstrated. In formation of cataracts under chronic influence of low doses of ionizing radiation the humoral autoimmune mechanisms are active but not the cellular ones. The increased content of antibodies against the antigens of crystalline lens found in the residents of the controlled regions shows the possibility to develop initial manifestations of cataract under the effect of low radiation doses.

[The induction of an immune response to influenza virus antigens by anti-idiotypic antibodies]. / Induktsiia immunnogo otveta k antigenam virusa grippa antiidiotipicheskimi antitelami.

The present investigation indicate that homologous polyclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies induce both humoral and cell-mediated immune response. Experiments on the exhaustion of immune sera with vaccine have revealed that anti-idiotypic antibodies induce not only specific antibodies to influenza virus antigens, but also antibodies to other epitopes of the globulin molecule of the anti-idiotype. Anti-idiotypic antibodies, when reintroduced into animals, induce the production of anti-influenza antibodies of the anamnestic type, but do not induce the formation of antihemagglutinins. The injection of influenza vaccine to animals, previously immunized with anti-idiotypic antibodies, induces the production of antihemagglutinins; an increase in the level of immune complexes and antibodies to anti-idiotype, i.e. anti-idiotypic antibodies, induces the development of immunological memory with respect to influenza virus antigens, including antihemagglutinins.

[Anti-influenzal antibodies inducing an immune response to the influenza virus]. / Protivogrippoznye antitela, indutsiruiushchie immunnyi otvet k virusu grippa.

The injection of anti-influenza antibodies into rabbits induces a specific immune response, including the production of anti-idiotypic antibodies and then the production of immune complexes and anti-influenza antibodies. The injection of antibodies induces the development of immunological memory; as a result, the animals are primed to respond to the injection of influenza vaccine.

[The anti-idiotypic response to the experimental administration of the inactivated or live influenza virus]. / Antiidiotipicheskii otvet na vvedenie inaktivirovannogo ili zhivogo virusa grippa v éksperimente.

The injection of inactivated and live influenza virus into rabbits induces the formation of anti-idiotypic antibodies, appearing after anti-influenza hemagglutinins, in the blood. The presence of immune complexes antibody--anti-idiotypic antibody in the blood of the animals has been established. The booster immunization of the animals with influenza virus antigens produces a rise in the levels of both idiotypic and anti-idiotypic antibodies. The injection of autologous anti-idiotypic globulin into the primed animals ensures the induction of idiotypic and anti-idiotypic revaccinal reactions.

[Cellular and humoral cytotoxicity indices in children with glomerulonephritis]. / Pokazateli kletochnoi i gumoral'noi tsitotoksichnosti u detei, bol'nykh glomerulonefritom.

Altogether 35 children suffering from different forms of glomerulonephritis were examined. It has been shown that in the pathogenesis of glomerulonephritis in children, an appreciable role is played not only by the action of pathogenic immune complexes but also by the mechanism of antibody-dependent cytotoxicity due to K-cells and lymphocytotoxicity, influencing the regulatory subpopulations of immunocompetent cells and acting directly on the structures of renal tissue. The nephrotic syndrome is characterized by the enhancement of serum lymphocytotoxicity whereas the nephritic syndrome by a rise in the blood of circulating immune complexes. In view of the fact that the process may become chronic, the rise of the activity of K-cells, of the level of lymphocytotoxins and the absence from the serum of circulating immune complexes should be regarded as unfavourable prognostic criteria.

[Humoral and cellular factors of immunity in mice with hepatoma 22A]. / Gumoral'nye i kletochnye faktory immuniteta u myshei s gepatomoi 22A.

Levels of hepatic autoantigens, anti-hepatic antibodies and immune complexes in sera of C3HA mice bearing syngeneic weakly-immunogenic hepatoma 22a were measured. The level of autoantigens increased during tumor growth, while autoantibodies were not identified at all stages. Circulating immune complexes were shown to bind heterologous complement at early stages of hepatoma growth, but later they did not. Bound immune complexes were identified in the kidney by means of immunofluorescence. Blastogenic reaction of normal splenic cells did not change when cells were cultivated with serum of tumor-bearing mice obtained throughout tumor growth. The proliferative activity of tumor-bearers' lymphocytes decreased during cultivation with serum taken at the terminal stages of tumor growth only. However, there was no correlation with the presence of free hepatic antigen and immune complexes in sera of hepatoma-bearing mice.

[Circulating immune complexes and the complement level in children with acute pneumonia]. / Tsirkuliruiushchie immunnye kompleksy i uroven' komplementa pri ostrykh pnevmoniiakh u detei.

It has been shown that study of immunopathological component in acute pneumonias is of value. Such an approach has demonstrated that in the course of the disease there form immune complexes (IC), which absorb complement and are of importance for the disease pathogenesis, and tissue immune complexes which do not absorb complement. Formation of anticomplement IC in acute pneumonias is in a good agreement with a reduction in blood serum complement level with a concurrent change in these indicators in the lungs. The demonstration of anticomplement IC in patients with acute pneumonia has a prognostic value. The stay at hospital of the patients who demonstrated IC at the very beginning of the disease was 2.5 times longer because of the lack of the process normalization.

[Dynamics of the formation of anti-idiotypic antibodies in the course of the immune response]. / Dinamika obazovaniia antiidiotipicheskikh antitel v khode immunnogo otveta.

The work demonstrates that after the injection of a heterogenous antigen into rabbits the appearance of antibodies is followed by the "spontaneous" formation of anti-idiotypic antibodies. These anti-antibodies, detected by means of several serological reactions, are specific and have an idiotypic character. Circulating antibody--anti-idiotypic antibody complexes have been detected in the blood of the animals. The injection of autologous anti-idiotypic antibodies into the immunized animals ensures the stimulation of the formation of antibodies and anti-idiotypic antibodies. Immunological memory with respect to anti-idiotypic antibodies develops in the body of the immunized animals.