Effects of vitamins, coenzymes and amino acids on reactions of homolytic cleavage of the O-glycoside bond in carbohydrates.

It has been established that vitamins B1, K3 and C, coenzyme Q0 and amino acids cysteine and histidine effectively inhibit reactions of homolytic cleavage of the O-glycoside bond, which are responsible for the destruction of di- and polysaccharides on gamma-irradiation or the action of other reactive radical initiators. This effect was shown to originate from either oxidation or reduction of the radicals of carbohydrates undergoing destruction.

[Antigenic activity of measles immunostimulating complex]. / Antigennaia aktivnost' korevogo immunostimuliruiushchego kompleksa.

The liposomal technology for preparing the immunostimulating complex (ISCOM) helped obtain a complex measles preparation whose antigens are represented by the structural proteins of measles virus in the bilayer phosphate-lipid membrane. Immunization of mice with the resultant preparation induced antimeasles antibodies with the maximum titer of antihemagglutinins 1:640 and of antihemolysins 1:1280. The biological activity of antibodies was confirmed in the neutralization test.

[The ultrastructural characteristics of Neisseria meningitidis strains isolated in different forms of infection]. / Osobennosti ul'trastruktury shtammov Neisseria meningitidis, vydelennykh pri razlichnykh formakh infektsii.

The electron microscopic study of cell populations of the first generation of several N.meningitidis strains, isolated from humans and grown on artificial culture medium (Hottinger's serum agar) has made it possible to establish that these organisms are morphologically heterogeneous. It was manifested by the presence of 7 morphological variants of cells in their cultures (different strains have different proportions of these variants): (a) "normal" and similar to normal diplococcal variants; (b) atypically dividing cells; (c) spheroplastic forms; (d) protoplastic forms (typical and atypical); (e) variably gemmating forms; (f) microforms and (g) gigantic forms. These data are of interest for the microbiological diagnosis of meningitis.

[Architectonics of Bifidobacteria populations: submicroscopic aspect of cell cohesion in Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Bifidobacterium bifidum]. / Arkhitektronika populiatsii Bifidobakterii submikroskopicheskii aspekt kogezii kletok Bifidobacterium adolescentis i Bifidobacterium bifidum.

Populations (cultures) of Bifidobacterium adolescents and B. bifidum, growing on artificial liquid and agar media, are presented by highly ordered mycelial structures. The topography of them depends on mutual arrangement of polymorphic cells and the way of their daughter cells separation after division. Evidences obtained by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of total preparations and by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) of ultrathin sections correlate well. These data showed the existence of morphologically varied intercellular contacts (coherence) that ensure the stability of such microbial consortia during adaptation to ambient conditions. Intercellular contacts with the aid of different extracellular structures--microfibrillae, knob-like juts, cell wall evaginations, and capsuleform stuff(glycocalix)--are the result of genetically determined self-regulating development of microbial populations as multicellular systems.

[Cellular ultrastructure of various species of the genus Bifidobacterium]. / [Ul'trastruktura kletok nekotorykh vidov roda Bifidobacterium.

Morphologic heterogeneity of cells from developing populations of bifidobacteria correlates with ultrastructure peculiarities. Active proliferating cells in exponential phase are characterized by formation of intracytoplasmatic membrane complex represented by lamellar, myelinoform, vesicular structures. Nucleoid is localized as the central polybranched or disperse osmophobic zone. Nucleoid distribution is determined by morphogenesis processes--exobudding, branching or multiseptation. Electronograms reveal multiple polyphosphate and polysaccharide inclusions. Ageing of bifidobacterial populations is accompanied with ultrastructural changes: cell wall hypersynthesis, reorganization and increased size of intracytoplasmatic membrane complex, altered morphology and compactness of nuclei, formation and dissimilation of inclusions.

[Immunochemical characteristics and serologic properties of lipopolysaccharides isolated from various Brucella species using various extraction methods]. / Immunokhimicheskaia kharakteristika i serologicheskie svoistva lipopolisakharidov, vydelennykh iz raznykh vidov brutsell razlichnymi metodami ékstraktsii.

The results of the comparative analysis of LPS isolated by different methods of extraction from the cultures of several Brucella species differing in their virulence are presented. Purified LPS preparations have been obtained from Brucella virulent and vaccine strains by using such methods as water-phenol extraction, Boivin's method, mild alkaline hydrolysis of the antigen according to Boivin's procedure. The presence of certain relationship between the method used for the extraction of Brucella LPS to be compared and their chemical composition, immunological characteristics and serological activity has been established. As shown in this investigation, in the process of the preparation of a highly sensitive diagnosticum for the passive hemagglutination test the use of LPS obtained from Brucella virulent strains, but not from the vaccine strain, by the method of mild alkaline hydrolysis according to Boivin's procedure is expedient. The data presented in this work indicate that the soluble complex of lipid A obtained from Brucella LPS has been found to possess serological activity. The results of the study of the serological properties of lipid A indicate that the lipid component may also play a certain role in the manifestation of the serological activity of Brucella LPS.

[Cytopathogenic action of intact and antibiotic-altered populations of Bordetella pertussis on a human amnion cell culture]. / Tsitopatogennoe deistvie intaktnykh i izmenennykh antibiotikami populiatsii Bordetella pertussis na kul'turu kletok amniona cheloveka.

Cytopathogenic and adhesive action of intact B. pertussis population and population changed under the effect of antibiotics was studied comparatively. It was shown that the level and character of the changes in the cell culture of line FL human amnion depended on the antibiotic used in the experiments. Populations of B. pertussis changed under the effect of tetracycline had the highest cytopathogenic and adhesive activity, while the activity of the population changed under the effect of erythromycin was the least. The decrease in the cytopathogenic and adhesive activity of B. pertussis changed under the effect of erythromycin correlated with lowering of the toxicity and the loss of the main agglutinogenic factors of the surface of the bacteria cell wall. The increase in the toxicity of the population changed under the effect of tetracycline was accompanied by changes in the cytopathogenic and adhesive properties of the culture.

[Electron microscopic study of the interaction of cultures of Bordetella pertussis altered by antibiotic action with a human amniotic cell culture]. / Elektronno-mikroskopicheskoe izuchenie vzaimodeistviia kul'tur Bordetella pertussis, izmenennykh pod deistviem antibiotikov, s kul'turoi kletok amniona cheloveka.

The adhesive properties of B. pertussis subjected to long-term subcultivation on nutrient media with antibiotics were studied with electron microscopy and it was shown that under the action of erythromycin the adhesive capacity of B. pertussis markedly decreased. Subcultivation on media with tetracycline did not lower the adhesive activity of B. pertussis. Changes in the adhesive properties of B. pertussis under the action of the antibiotics correlated with changes in toxicity, serovars and ultrastructure of the bacteria in the population.

[Electron microscopic study of the cytopathogenic action of meningococci in a continuous human amnion cell culture]. / Elektronno-mikroskopicheskoe izuchenie tsitopatogennogo deistviia meningokokkov na perevivaemuiu kul'turu kletok amniona cheloveka.

The electron-microscopic study of the interaction of meningococci with continuous human amnion cell culture F1 has revealed that this process comprises 3 stages. The study has shown that, following the adhesion of meningococci to the surface of cells F1, these cells are invaded by individual coccal forms of meningococci. In response to infection vacuoles appear in the cytoplasm of the cells. Meningococci are either phagocytosed inside these vacuoles, or their release into the intercellular space and the death of the infected by meningococci are observed. When the cells are infected by cytopathogenic strains, the infectious process results in the appearance of degenerative changes in the cells.

[Cellular ultrastructure of the meningococcus when incubated in a continuous culture of human FL-line amnion]. / Ul'trastruktura kletok meningokokka v usloviiakh inkubatsii ikh v perevivaemoi kul'ture amniona cheloveka linii FL.

Some details of the ultrastructure of several meningococcal strains having had contacts with cells in continuous human amnion cell culture FL for 6 hours to 2 days have been defined with greater precision by means of electron microscopy. The study has shown that the contact of meningococci with the tissue culture is accompanied by the appearance of meningococcal forms with the defective cell wall, similar to L-forms: spheroplast, protoplast, gigantic cells and microcells, as well as budding variants. The meningococcal variants with the defective cell wall, appearing in the cell culture, and the forms occurring (in different proportions) in "ripe" meningococcal populations developing in the culture media for a long time and isolated from a human body have been found to have no essential differences in their fine structure. These data indicate that any external influences (meningococci are highly sensitive to such influences) produce sufficiently rapid changes, similar to L-transformation, in the fine structure of these microorganisms.

[Cryofractographic study of intercellular junctions in the populations of agar-cultivated Bordetella pertussis]. / Kriofraktorgraficheskoe izuchenie mezhkletochnykh sviazei v populiatsiiakh agarovykh kul'tur Bordetella pertussis.

The characteristic feature of replicas obtained from the freeze-fractures of B. pertussis unfixed cultures developing on casein charcoal agar for 1-7 days is the associative growth of highly polymorphic cells, ensured by the ramified system of intercellular connections (IC) formed by the derivatives of the outer layers of the cell wall. This proves that the associative location of bacterial cells, linked by numerous IC, in the preparation is not the artefact appearing in the process of their chemical fixation. In replicas obtained from the freeze-fractures of B. pertussis cultures, previously fixed with glutaraldehyde, osmic acid and uranyl acetate, oval cells with the cytoplasm having a relatively homogeneous structure and with the smoothed-out three-layer cell wall prevail. As a rule, IC are limited to the sites of direct contacts between individual cells.

[Ultrastructure of freshly isolated strains of Bordetella pertussis]. / Ul'trastruktura svezhevydelennykh shtammov Bordetella pertussis.

The study of the electronograms of B. pertussis strains isolated in the foci of pertussis revealed the existence of the morphological variants of these cells, differing in the character of the cell wall, the state of the cytoplasm, the presence of amorphous inclusions of medium electron-optical density. The morphological variants did not correlate with the character of B. pertussis colonies isolated from blood-charcoal agar. The ultrastructure of the cells belonging to the second morphological variant was similar to that of the cells from the museum strain, altered by tetracycline treatment in the course of the experiment.

[Morphological heterogeneity of Bordetella pertussis populations and clones (based on electron microscopy data)]. / Morfologicheskaia neodnorodnost' populiatsii i klonov Bordetella pertussis (po dannym élektronnoi mikroskopii).

Populations belonging to different serovars of B. pertussis museum strains and antibiotic-resistant clones obtained from them have been studied by electron microscopy. As a result, morphological heterogeneity and differences in the ultrastructure of the cells with respect to the cell-wall structure, the character of the cytoplasm, the size of the cells, cytoplasmic inclusions and intracellular links have been demonstrated and, proceeding from these data, two main morphological variants of the cells have been defined. The cells of the morphological variant characterized by the pliciform surface of the outer membrane and the pronounced periplasmic space prevail among the populations of the museum strains. The possibility of the isolation of antibiotic-resistant clones, differing in their morphological structure and functional properties from the initial population, has been shown. The morphological diversity of B. pertussis population is the necessary condition for the existence and development of microbial populations.

[Ultrastructure of the meningococcus in logarithmic and stationary development phases]. / Ul'trastruktura meningokokka v logarifmicheskoi i statsionarnoi fazakh razvitiia.

The complex study of Neisseria meningitidis cultures A-208 in the time course of their development has disclosed that broth cultures in the logarithmic and stationary phases of their development are most valid on account of all their biological properties (the specific character of the reaction of agglutination, viability, the morphology of colonies and cells in light and electron microscopy). The use of scanning electron microscopy has made it possible to reveal bubbly endotoxin excretion in N. meningitidis and funnel-shaped depressions on their surface corresponding, probably, to nucleoid epicenters . In ultrathin sections some previously unknown features of the ultrastructure of N. meningitidis in the logarithmic and stationary phase of their development have been detected: (a) the morphological heterogeneity of N. meningitidis represented by cells of the "light" (L) and "dark" (D) types; (b) the surface structures of meningococcal cells from the cultures in the stationary phase of development show the tendency to smoothing out, which is accompanied by their sharper differentiation.

[Effect of penicillin and the habitat medium in the body of bacterial carriers on the intercellular bonds in populations of the meningococcus and pertussis microbe]. / Vliianie penitsillina i sredy obitaniia v organizme bakterionositelei na mezhkletochnye sviazi populiatsii meningokokka i kokliushnogo mikroba.

The relationship of the bacterial cells in populations and their adhesion activity is at present one of the research priorities in microbiological studies. The stimulating effect of penicillin on the development of morphologically different intercellular bonds (IB) in populations of the pertussis causative agent and first of all derivatives or evaginates of the cell wall membranes was observed. Morphologically similar systems and polytubular IB were detected in populations of meningococcal strains isolated from carriers having no signs of the disease. Correlation between the after-effect of penicillin and the presence of the causative agent in bacterial carriers was shown. Unknown systems of interlacing tubular structures not directly bound with the cells, the walls of which were single contour membranes were determined in the meningococcal populations treated with penicillin. IB were observed in the population in the form of transpopulation cords. Morphologically different IB playing the role of specialized organelles might be considered as factors of the functional unity of the bacterial population as a multicellular system.

[Ultrastructural changes in populations of the pertussis microbe exposed to antibiotics]. / Ul'trastrukturnye izmeneniia populiatsii kokliushnogo mikroba pri deistvii antibiotikov.

The ultrastructural changes in the populations of the pertussis causative agent maintained for a prolonged period of time on nutrient media containing antibiotics were studied with the method of electron microscopy. Significant changes in the ultrastructure of the cells and the population composition due to the effect of tetracycline, levomycetin or erythromycin were observed. The ultrastructure of the populations affected by penicillin or streptomycin and their biological properties were most similar to those of the initial strains. The electronogrammes revealed morphological heterogeneity of the initial and experimental cultures and changes in the subpopulation composition induced by the antibiotics.