[Property of collection strains and new isolates of Shigella sonnei].

The vital ability, serological properties, antibioticograms and biochemical properties of collection strains and new isolates of Shigella sonnei have been studied. It was ascertained that the determined factors are sufficiently variable, thus they cannot be used as the independent basis for the classification of pathogens.

[Change of serological properties of museum strains of Shigella flexneri in different terms of storage].

The viability, purity, biological and serological properties of museum strains of Shigella flexneri which were kept in lyophilized state during above 30 years were studied. Primary serological characteristics were specified, it was established that type 2a is the predominant serotype independent of the years and regions of isolation. Some strains lost antigens as a result of the long-term preservation or reinoculation on agar media.

[The pathogenetic aspects of the hyaluronidase activity of Proteus mirabilis]. / Patogeneticheskie aspekty gialuronidaznoi aktivnosti Proteus mirabilis.

The hyaluronidase activity of 83 P. mirabilis strains has been studied. The strains isolated from patients with chronic urologic infection possess the highest hyaluronidase activity, while the activity of strains isolated in cases of enteric disturbances and from purulent wound exudate has proved to be considerably lower, the difference between the latter being statistically insignificant. The hyaluronidase activity of P. mirabilis may be increased when the culture is grown in the presence of blood serum, and in strains isolated from internal organs an increase in hyaluronidase activity and the production of slime-like substance by bacterial cells can be observed. After the parenteral infection of animals with paired strains differing in their hyaluronidase activity differences in the course of infection were noted.

[The mechanisms of Proteus mirabilis resistance to the bactericidal action of blood serum]. / Mekhanizmy ustoichivosti Proteus mirabilis k bakteritsidnomu deistviiu syvorotki krovi.

When studying sensitivity of Proteus mirabilis to bactericide effect of blood serum the resistance to alternative way of the complement activation was found in a number of strains. The population of cells with morphologically determinable changes of the surface structures resistant to bactericide effect of the serum is formed as affected by the blood serum of the culture P. mirabilis. Proteus proteases capable to inactivate the complement components are one of the factors of P. mirabilis resistance to bactericide effect of the complement.

[Serotyping of Proteus using a rapid system]. / Serotipirovanie proteev s pomoshch'iu rapid-sistemy.

A rapid method for Proteus serologic typing is suggested, based on Soviet commercial diagnostic adsorbed type sera. The rapid system involves replacing two-staged typing with one-staged, making use of polyvalent sera constructed by uniting 8-9 type sera according to the suggested schemes. O- and H-antigens are types in accordance with special tables. Fifteen O-antigens and 4 H-antigens, whose total incidence among Proteus clinical strains is under 2 percent, cannot be typed with the use of this system. The suggested rapid system is suggested as a rapid simple method for typing Proteus clinical strains in intricate epidemiologic situations.

[The phospholipases of Proteus mirabilis]. / Fosfolipazy Proteus mirabilis.

The method of screening Proteus for phospholipase activity has been worked out. The study of isolated clones of the same strain, used as an example, has revealed that clones differing in their phospholipase activity also differ in virulence and in some parameters of interaction in the host-parasite system. P. mirabilis phospholipases are supposed to be of importance as one of the factors contributing to the invasive properties of these microorganisms at the stage of overcoming the epithelial cell barrier of mucous membranes.

[A method for determining phospholipases in microorganisms]. / Metod opredeleniia fosfolipaz mikroorganizmov.

A method is suggested for the determination of bacteria phospholipases in dense nutrient medium. The medium contains the egg-yolk solution, buffer pH 9.2, meat extract, calcium chloride and toluidine blue. The enzyme activity is estimated by the diameter value of the medium clarification zone around the bacterial mass inoculation by injection into an agar plate. It is possible to study 6-8 strains on one Petri dish. This method is a simple one and thus it can be used in the bacteriological practice when determining phospholipases of bacteria, especially in strains of those species where this enzyme is a pathogenicity factor.

[The isolation of a pure culture of Proteus hauseri from associated bacteria]. / Vydelenie chistoi kul'tury Proteus hauseri iz assotsiatsii.

A simple method for isolation of P. vulgaris and P. mirabilis pure culture from associations with other microorganisms has been developed. Medium for inoculation of a bacterial culture suspected of an association contains glycerin and asparaginic acid. The suggested method is simple and highly effective, reproducible at any bacteriologic laboratory, and is particularly valuable for improving the quality of etiologic diagnosis of pyoseptic diseases.

[Serodiagnosis and the immunological aspects of Proteus infection. IV. Serum antibody level and the pathomorphological and bacteriological indices in experimental mixed and monoinfections of the urinary tract]. / Serodiagnostika i immunologicheskie aspekty proteinoi infektsii. Soobshchenie IV. Uroven' syvorotochnykh antitel, patomorfologicheskie i bakteriologicheskie pokazateli pri smeshannoi i monoinfektsiiakh mochevyvodiashchego trakta v éksperimente.

In developing the serodiagnosis of the Proteus infection of the urinary tract experimental hematogenic Proteus or Proteus-Escherichia pyelonephritis was reproduced. In this infection the time course, level and avidity of serum antibodies correlated with the isolation of the causative agents from urine samples used as seed material and with histological changes in the kidneys. The serological tests revealed high titres of H-antibodies and the presence of O-antibodies, while in cases of bacteriuria not accompanied by kidney lesions only H-antibodies in low titers were detected. The results obtained in the study of immune shifts can be used for etiological diagnosis and more exact localization of the pathological process in the urinary system.

[Characteristics of the fatty acid composition of Providencia alcalifaciens and Providencia stuartii lipids]. / Osoebnnosti sostava zhirnykh kislot lipidov u Providencia alcalifaciens i Providencia stuartii.

The fatty acid composition of total cellular lipids and lipid A of lipopolysaccharides was studied in Providencia alcalifaciens and P. stuartii. Significant differences were found in the fatty acid composition of total cellular lipids from the above species; these are caused mainly by the presence of cyclopropane fatty acids (methylenehexadecanoic and methyleneoctadecanoic acids) in P. stuartii and their absence in P. alcalifaciens. Differences were also established in the content of fatty acids in lipid A of lipopolysaccharides from P. alcalifaciens and P. stuartii. The data are consistent with the idea that P. alcalifaciens and P. stuartii are separate taxons though, apparently, closely related.