[Immunity in listeriosis]. / Immunitet pri listerioze.

In this review modern concepts on the formation of specific immunity to listeriosis are presented. Numerous data indicate that in Listeria monocytogenes virulence and the capacity for inducing specific protection is ensured by the protein listeriolysin O. The importance of gamma-interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin 12 and other mediators in ensuring the differentiation of (CD4(+) T-cells into Th1-helpers and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes in animals infected with L. monocytogenes is described in detail. The safety and effective preparations for specific prophylaxis of listeriosis were not developed. Hopeful results have been obtained in experiments on the immunization of mice with killed bacteria with listeriolysin O or interleukin 12. Works describing the use of modified L. monocytogenes strains as vectors for the creation of vaccines against different infections seem to show good prospects.

Listeriosis of animals: problems and research.

In a pig farm virulent Listeria were found in 25% of animal tissues and environmental object and 7% in human tonsil samples from patients with tonsillitis. The isolates were characterized by serological and phage-typing. Purified cytoplasm and cell wall fractions and subfractions protected laboratory animals in 40-58%.

[Identification of Listeria using molecular DNA-DNA hybridization]. / Identifikatsiia listerii s pomoshch'iu metoda molekuliarnoi DNK-DNK-gibridizatsii.

The DNA-DNA hybridization method was used to study 4 species of bacteria of the genus Listeria. Concerning the DNA homology, L. monocytogenes strains may be divided into several species (in particular, the pathogenic forms may be isolated into independent taxon), in correlation with their biochemical and serological properties. Most of the studied strains of this species exhibit a high level of DNA homology--65-100%. Bacteria of the L. grayi and L. murrayi species are closely related to each other (90% of DNA homology), the reasonable suggestion being to unite them into a single species. L. denitrificans has 7% of DNA homology with the DNA of the other three species suggesting that it should be excluded from the genus Listeria.

[Sensitivity of the phage titer increase test in detecting Listeria]. / O chuvstvitel'nosti reaktsii narastaniia titra faga pri obnaruzhenii Listeria.

The optimum conditions for performing the phage titer increase test aimed at the detection of Listeria in water and soil have been established.

[Characteristics of the anthrax vaccinal strain STI-1 preserved for 30 years in the form of lyophilized spores]. / Kharakteristika sibireiazvennogo vaktsinnogo shtamma STI-1, khranivshegosia 30 let v vide liofilizirovannykh spor

A study was made of the biological properties of the spore culture of anthrax vaccine strain STI-1 lyophilized in 1944 and kept for 30 years without any passages. This dry culture contained not less than 29% of live spores; the culture growth in the nutrient broth and on the agar medium was typical for the strain. Immunogenicity tested in experiments on guinea pigs and rabbits was not reduced and corresponded to that of the reference STI-1 vaccine.