Influence of pathogenic and atypical mycobacteria on immune status of guinea pigs

Abstract

In recent years a diversity of researchings both native and foreign scientists has been devoted to the investigation of animal tuberculosis. However, there are a number of questions required more detailed studying and scientific justification. Among involved questions specific place is occupied by the problem of animal immunity in cases of infection by pathogenic and atypical mycobacteria. The aim of our work was to study the influence of pathogenic and atypical mycobacteria on the immune status of laboratory animals. The influence of pathogenic and atypical mycobacteria on the immune status of guinea pigs was studied by infecting them with a suspension from the bacterial mass of each individual mycobacterial culture (M. bovis, M. avium and M. fortuitum). The suspension was prepared at the rate of 1.0 mg / ml of sterile NaCl and injected subcutaneously into animals at a dose of 1.0 ml. Blood samples were taken on the 7 th , 14 th , 30 th and 60 th days after the injection of mycobacterial cultures to determine the most informative indicators of the immunological status of animals. Amount of neutrophils and phagocytic activity were determined in the blood of experimental animals. The total protein level was determined spectrophotometrically in the serum of guinea pigs, the level of circulating immune complexes (CIC) of average molecular weight-by the method of Grinevich & Alferov, seromukoida-by Weimer & Moshin. The data obtained that M. bovis caused the biggest growth in some cellular and humoral immunity indicate (the percentage of neutrophils by 28.6% and their phagocytic activity by 15.8%, the level of total protein is 76.13 g/l, circulating immune complexes 0.190 mg/ml and seromukoids per day 7 (0.099 mg/ml) on the 30 th day after infection in comparison with animals of the control group. Animals infected with the culture of atypical mycobacteria M. fortuitum showed less noticeable changes in immunity, compared to animals infected with the pathogen of tuberculosis.