Vital activity of bacteria is directly inhibitedin vitro by antibodies

The level of vital activity ofPseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria was determined according to the rate of pH decline in the culture mediumin vitro. The addition of immune serum to this medium initiated bacterial agglutination and lowered the level of vital activity of the culture. The aggregation of bacteria by centrifugation suppressed their vital activity in the same way as agglutination. Inhibition of microbial vital activity during agglutination and aggregation due to the centrifugal force may be attributed to a showing down of the rate of diffusion of nutrients and metabolites through the aggregates. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 119, N ^o 6, pp. 662–664, June, 1995 Presented by D. S. Sarkisov, Member of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences