Vi antigen and microbial adhesion factors. The detection of adhesins in commercial Vi antigen preparations

Enterobacterial Vi-antigen inhibit the Escherichia coli-induced agglutination of red blood cells of guinea pigs and other animals, which indicates that Vi-antigen contains the admixture of adhesion associated with type I pili. The amount of adhesion contained in Vi-antigen can be determined from the degree to which its hemagglutination-inhibiting effect is manifested.     

伤寒Vi多糖菌苗多糖含量及分子大小测定试验

伤寒Ｖｉ多糖菌苗是我国新近研制成功的一种多糖菌苗。为了严格控制该制品的质量,经反复试验,建立了多糖含量和分子大小的测定方法。本文报导了（１）用火箭电泳法测定伤寒Ｖｉ多糖菌苗多糖含量。经对不同实验条件进行比较,选择出较为理想的条件。用该法测定８批样品。结果均符合规程要求。对其中５批样品进行６次重复试验表明,该法的重复性好,操作简单,是测定多糖含量较为理想的方法。（２）用琼脂糖柱层析法对２８批伤寒Ｖｉ多糖菌苗的分子大小进行测定。对用该法所得柱层析收集液分别用Ｈｅｓｔｒｉｎ法和２０６ｎｍ扫描法测定其多糖回收率,对测定结果进行比较。结果表明,两种方法的测定结果无显著性差异（Ｐ＞０．０１）,而且重复性均好。可根据实验室条件选择测定方法。     

Interaction of Vi antigen with proteins

Whiteside, Roberta E. (Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, Mass.), and Edgar E. Baker. Interaction of Vi antigen with proteins. J. Bacteriol. 92:1597-1603. 1966.-Purified Vi antigen (Vi) mixed in equal amounts with bovine serum albumin (BSA) or human gamma globulin (HGG) at pH values above 4.7 formed a complex which was not precipitated by trichloroacetic acid or tungstic acid. At pH values below 4.7, the interaction between Vi and either BSA or HGG produced insoluble complexes except when excess Vi antigen was present. When sufficient Vi was present at the lower pH values, the soluble complex was not precipitated by trichloroacetic acid. Other acid polysaccharides tested did not form trichloroacetic acid-soluble complexes with BSA. When subjected to immunoelectrophoresis, the Vi-BSA complex migrated in agar at a rate different from that of either BSA or Vi alone. The complex reacted with both Vi and BSA antiserum. The addition of either BSA or Vi antiserum to a Vi-BSA complex resulted in dissociation of the complex and precipitation of either Vi or BSA, depending upon the antiserum used. Vi antigen mixed with purified O antigen from Salmonella typhosa formed a complex which migrated in agar at a rate different from that of either component alone when subjected to immunoelectrophoresis.     

Adsorption of Vi antigen on human erythrocytes

The accumulation of Vi-antigen in the human body was studied with the use of such characteristic as the specific adsorption capacity of red blood cells. This parameter was shown to depend on the phenotype in the ABO blood group system. In cases of typhoid fever an increase in the adsorption capacity of red blood cells was observed at the acute period of the disease. These changes were particularly manifest in patients belonging to groups O and A. The authors suggest that the adsorption of the antigen on red blood cells has a definite kinetics related to the dynamics of the infectious process.