Effect of presensitization ofNocardia asteroideswith specific antibody on the viability of the organism

✍ Scribed by O. U. Osoagbaka

• Publisher: Springer
• Year: 1996
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 609 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1573-0972
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00327722

✦ Synopsis

Nocardia asteroides from various growth phases was treated in vitro with normal rabbit sera, immune rabbit sera containing nocardial polyclonal antibodies and a monoclonal antibody. At intervals, samples were grown in broth or on blood agar plates to determine their viability. Log and stationary phase cells were injected intra-peritoneally into female BALB/c mice and their survival rates in the liver and spleen were determined. Presensitization with antibodies reduced the viability of the log phase cells by 48% and that of the late stationary phase by 4%. The antibody-treated log phase organisms were less viable on the blood agar medium and in the spleen and liver than the control organisms. This indicates that pretreatment with antibody has a lethal effect on N. asteroides and affects its survival in vivo.