[Evaluation of the effectiveness of group-A and -C meningococcal polysaccharide vaccines by molecular parameters].

Chromatographic properties of meningococcal polysaccharides and vaccines of serogroups A and C prepared at the G. N. Gabrichevskiĭ Moscow Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology were studied during determination of their molecular parameters by gel filtration on sepharose 4B.

[Immunologic properties of purified and complex preparations of group-B meningococcal polysaccharide].

The complex preparations of group B meningococcal polysaccharide have been found to be capable of inducing primary immune response in mice, while purified group B polysaccharide has proved to be immunologically inert. As revealed in this investigation, the intravenous injection to mice of the optimum doses of the complex preparation of group B polysaccharide leads to the increased number of specific B-antibody-forming cells in their spleens and to a rise in B-antibody titers in their sera; besides, the time course of the process has been studied. Both preparations have been found capable of forming the immunological memory in mice if booster immunization is made with the complex preparation of group B polysaccharide.

[Isolation and characteristics of a specific polysaccharide of group-B meningococci].

The optimum conditions for the isolation and purification of the specific polysaccharide of group B meningococci have been developed. The advantages of the use of synthetic culture media for growing the initial bacterial culture have been demonstrated. The purified polysaccharides have been found to contain about 70% of sialic acid and less than 1% of protein and nucleic acid admixtures.