[Assessment of the possibility of application in laboratory practice of reagent kit for diagnosis of glanders and melioidosis by real-time polymerase chain reaction.]

The reagent kit AmpligenBurk-mallei/pseudomallei-RT PCR is designed for detecting in vitro diagnostics and differentiate the DNA of glanders and melioidosis pathogens by real-time multiplex PCR in biological (clinical) material and cultures of microorganisms, as well as environmental objects and solid food products (rice). During clinical testing diagnostic value of reagent kit AmpligenBurk-mallei/pseudomallei-RT PCR has been studied. Based on the results obtained, a high analytical sensitivity (1×103 microbe cells/ml) and specificity (100%) of PCR-RT with the developed reagent kit were established, regardless of the type of material being studied. The diagnostic sensitivity of PCR-RT using a set of reagents was at least 98.0% and specificity at least 99%. The stages of state examination have been completed, a registration certificate has been obtained at Roszdravnadzor, production, sale and use of reagent kit in medical laboratory practice have been permitted.

[Preparation for state registration of the reagent kit for the detection and differentiation of the DNA of burkholderia «pseudomallei¼ group.]

The reagent kit designed to detect and simultaneously differentiate the DNA of three species of Burkholderia pseudomallei - causative agents of melioidosis (B. pseudomallei), glanders (B. mallei) and B. thailandensis by the set of genes of ß-lactamases with B and D molecular classes using a multiplex polymerase chain reaction with electrophoretic detection was developed for clinical laboratory diagnosis. The functional properties of the reagent kit were evaluated, tests were carried out, the stages of examination and registration in the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights' Protection and Human Well-being were completed. During clinical testing the effectiveness of the reagent kits in the study of various samples of clinical material and isolated cultures of microorganisms was confirmed. It has been established that the indicator of diagnostic sensitivity of the reagent kit for the detection and differentiation of the glanders, melioidosis and B. thailandensis causative agents was less than 99 %, diagnostic specificity - not less than 99 % with a confidence probability of 90 % in the analysis of each of the indicators.

[IDENTIFICATION OF CAUSATIVE AGENTS OF GLANDERS AND MELIOIDOSIS BASED ON PRINCIPLES OF POLYPHASE TAXONOMIC APPROACH].

AIM: Determine an optimal set of the most effective methods of identification and intraspecies typing ofcausative agents ofglanders and melioidosis. Materials andmethods. Bacteriologic, immunochemical, molecular-genetic methods were used. RESULTS: A possibility to identify collection strains of pathogenic and closely related Burkholderia in semiautomatic systems is studied. Means of detection of informative variable genome segments ofthe specified microorganisms were developed, methods of their genetic typing were selected. Effectiveness of application of precipitating mAbs for differentiation of Burkholderia was established. Data on diagnostic possibilities of immunoglobulins fluorescing based on monoclonal antibodies of various etiotropic directionality for detection and identification of B. mallei and B. pseudomallei are generalized. Experimental series of amplification test-systems for identification of glanders and melioidosis causative agents in real-time PCR format are created. CONCLUSION: A number of methods for identification and typing of glanders and melioidosis causative agents is proposed.

[The comparative evalution of informativeness of immunologic and molecular genetic methods and means during stages of specific indication of melioidosis agent].

The reference-center of monitoring of agents of glanders and melioidosis carried out testing of reagents kits for diagnostic of agent of melioidosis and other close-related species of Burkholderiae in vitro. At the stage of specific identification of pathogenic Burkholderiae the diagnostic possibilities of commercial and experimental kits of reagents for express- and rapid analysis were evaluated. The criteria of evaluation of diagnostic value of kits of reagents were sensitivity, specificity and time of implementation of studies. The analysis with application of mono- and multi-locus amplification systems, including real-time polymerase chain reaction permitted during 5-6 hours to implement identification and differentiation of Burkholderia pseufomallei, B. thailandensis and B. cepacia.

[The use of fluorescent liposomal immunoanalysis for the diagnostics and indication of glanders and melioidosis].

The authors have developed a homogenous method for the detection of the cells, surface antigen, and Ag8 of glanders and melioidosis pathogens and antibodies to them, based on the compliment-dependent lysis of Ag8-sensitized liposomes. The method is highly specific; its sensitivity to antibodies to glanders and melioidosis pathogens is 24 to 440 times higher than that of RID: its sensitivity to Ag8 is 100 ng/ml corresponding to 1.25x10-10 M, and its sensitivity to cells is 10(5) to 10(6) cells/ml).

[Ultrastructural immunochemical study of pathogenic Burkholderia capsule].

The capsular structures of Burkholderia pseudomallei, B. mallei, B. cepacia and their avirulent noncapsular mutants were studied with the use of electron ahd immunocytochemical techniques. For this purpose, antimelio-idosis monoclonal antibodies (McAb) G11 and 1 G2, epitope-aimed at capsular glycopyotein of 200 kD and outer-membrane proteins of 42 and 39 kD, were used. As revealed in this study, the typical causative agents of melioidosis and glanders formed the capsule and exhibited high virulence due to the antiphagocytic activity of 200 kD glycoprotein, whose epitopes were found to be incorporated into the capsule, in contrast to avirulent variants and B. cepacia, found to have no such structure. The recognition of the membrane determinants of McAb 1 G2 on the outer-membrane surface of the non-capsular variants of microbes known to be the causative agents of melioidosis and glanders was indicative of absence of the capsule in these microbial cells. These data concerning the role of 200 kD antigen in virulence, its structural and functional characteristics may be efffectively used in the study of the pathogenetic mechanisms of melioidosis and glanders, as well as in the construction of preparations for their immunodiagnostics and prophylaxis.

[The enzyme-antienzyme interactions of a number of Burkholderia pseudomallei hydrolases with monoclonal immunoglobulins]. / Ferment-antifermentnye vzaimodeistviia riada gidrolaz Burkholderia pseudomallei s monoklonal'nymi immunoglobulinami.

Phosphatase, phospholipase C and a proteolytic complex, including casein- and hemoglobin-hydrolases, have been isolated from cell-free extracts of B. pseudomallei cultivation medium. A set of monoclonal antibodies (McAb) to the antigenic complexes of this infective agent has been obtained. Conditions for the study of the interaction of the enzymes and McAb have been worked out, and most of the 14 immunoglobulins under study have been shown to neutralize 2-3 hydrolases each. Three types of McAb, selectively inhibiting only the proteolytic complex, only casein-hydrolase and only phospholipase C, have been identified.

[The isolation of monoclonal antibodies to Cryptococcus neoformans antigens]. / Poluchenie monoklonal'nykh antitel k antigenam Cryptococcus neoformans.

In this work conditions for the reproduction of hybridoma technology, specially adapted to C. neoformans, for obtaining monoclonal hybridomas (McAb) to diagnostically significant antigens of C. neoformans, the infective agent of cryptococcosis, are presented. The advantages of using the short-time cycle of stimulation of mouse B lymphocytes with low doses of C. neoformans capsular polysaccharide and the effectiveness of the hybridization of mouse spleen cells with myeloma cells, line Sp2/0, are shown. Four lines of stable hybridomas, producing McAb to different epitopes of C. neoformans surface antigens, have been obtained. The specific activity of McAb has been studied in the indirect immunofluorescence assay, the cytochemical and solid-phase enzyme immunoassays (EIA). McAb 3E2, Cr2 and 2G9 have been shown to be suitable for use in diagnostic EIA systems.

[The outlook for improving the immunoglobulin preparations for the detection and identification of the causative agents of glanders and melioidosis]. / Perspektivy sovershenstvovaniia immunoglobulinovykh preparatov dlia obnaruzheniia i identifikatsii vozbuditelei sapa i melioidoza.

The paper summarizes the data concerning the production and study of monoclonal antibodies (MAb) to the diagnostically significant glanders and melioidosis bacillus antigens. It evaluates the efficiency of using MAb in the gel immunodiffusion and agglutination tests as a basis of new-generation preparations for fluorescent antibody assay, indirect hemagglutination test which are used while detecting and identifying pathogenic pseudomonads. The paper defines the quality indices for monoclonal luminescent immunoglobulins and provides evidence for the benefits of monoclonal diagnostic agents over polyclonal analogues.