Antigenic activity of external membrane proteins in Yersinia pestis EV

The study of immunocomplexes obtained from antisera to the preparations of Y. pestis outer membranes and membrane proteins has revealed that outer membrane proteins are involved in the formation of the immunocomplex and belong to previously unknown Y. pestis EV antigens.     

Identification of Borrelia isolated in the USSR from Ixodes persulcatus Schulze ticks

The data on the identification of 7 spirochetal isolates from Ixodes persulcatus ticks collected in Leningrad Province and the Khabarovsk Territory are presented. These isolates, studied with the use of monoclonal antibodies, have been shown to belong to Borrelia burgdorferi.     

Derepression of hepatocyte proliferation with changes in the functional state of the reticuloendothelial system

Experiments on rats and mice were performed to study the effects of different substances modifying RES functions on hepatocyte proliferation. It was shown that as early as 24 hours after Kupffer cell (KC) overloading with colloidal iron particles the number of hepatocytes in mitosis increased. The mitotic rate increased by 32 h and decreased between 48 and 72 h following iron injection. Forty-eight h after injection of latex particles the hepatocyte mitotic peak could be identified. Twenty-four and 48 h after zymozan injection DNA synthesis in sinusoidal liver cells correspondingly increased. Hepatocytes in mitosis appeared 5 days later, reaching the peak value after 9 days followed by a decrease 12 days after zymozan injection. The depression of the hepatocyte mitotic rate was also observed 9 days after BCG and 15 days after prodigiozan injection. The data are suggestive of the importance of KC as potential inducers of hepatocyte proliferation.     

Liver regeneration at different stages of mononuclear infiltration induced by zymosan granules

The relationship between regeneration of the liver of (CBA X C57BL)F1 mice and the degree of its mononuclear infiltration was studied. Resection of the 2/3 of the liver mass was performed 1 and 5 days and 2 months after zymosan-induced mononuclear infiltration. The synthesis of DNA and mitotic activity of hepatocytes in the liver with infiltrations was higher as compared with control. The rate of liver regeneration was dependent on the scope of the mononuclear infiltration, reaching a maximum provided liver resection was made 5 days after injection of zymosan granules.     

The infectiousness of Ixodes persulcatus ticks with the causative agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis simultaneously

By means of individual bacteriological and virological investigations of adult Ixodes persulcatus ticks and comparison of obtained results there has been established their simultaneous spontaneous infection with agents of Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. A possible frequency of such mixed infection in these vectors is being discussed.     

Effects of p-Nitrophenol and Organophosphorous Nitroaromatic Insecticides on the Respiratory Activity of Free and Immobilized Cells of Strains C-11 and BA-11 of Pseudomonas putida

The possibility of using the respiratory activity (RA) of microbial cells (of strains C-11 and BA-11 of Pseudomonas putida) as an instrument for quantitative determination of organophosphorous nitroaromatic insecticides, metaphos and Sumithion, and their hydrolysis product, p-nitrophenol (PNP), has been explored. The dependences of RA on the concentrations of the three compounds were linear within the range 0.5–2.5 mM. The cells of the strain BA-11 exhibited maximum selectivity in the determination of the compounds. The RAs of microbial cells differing in the modes of immobilization (adsorption to carrier surfaces vs. incorporation into gels) have been compared. Prospects of development of the microbial cell-based sensor system for determining metaphos, Sumithion, and PNP in aqueous media are discussed.