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Aim: Optimization of diagnostics of genital herpesvirus infection (herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, cytomegalovirus [CMV]) in women with tubal-peritoneal infertility on the basis of detection of viral material in various parts of genital system using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and revealing pathogenetically significant systemic abnormalitites of cytokine- and nitroxidergic regulation., Materials and Methods: Sixty-three women with tubal-peritoneal infertility were included in the study. Immunoenzyme assay, PCR, and modified Griess method were used., Results: In cervical canal herpesvirus infection was detected together with other agents in 30.1% of cases. In upper parts of reproductive system monoinfection with herpesvirus was detected in 74.63% of cases (herpes virus types 1 and 2--in 46.03%, CMV--in 28.6% of women). Increased levels of stable end metabolites of nitric oxide and cytokines were noted in sera of tested women., Conclusion: Inflammatory changes in reproductive organs in women with tubal-peritoneal infertility are determined by chronic herpesvirus infection. This leads to Th1 polarization of immune response and developing of immune-mediated inflammation.

Using the Bioage and Snake software the immune and cardiovascular system aging rate was diagnosed in patients having early forms of chronic cerebrovascular diseases (CCVD). The indicators of biological, cardiopulmonary and immunological age were studied in patients showing early symptoms of cerebrovascular insufficiency and dyscirculatory encephalopathy of the 1st stage. The rate of age-dependent physiological changes was diagnosed compared to general body aging rate. Some specific patterns of immune system aging were found in patients with early forms of CCVDs, the cardinal aging symptoms (heterotropia, heterochronia) were verified.

Aim: To study the composition of microflora of lower and upper parts of reproductive system in women with tubal-peritoneal sterility., Materials and Methods: One hundred and forty-five women with tubal-peritoneal sterilitywere examined. Laparoscopy with biopsy of ovaries and endometrium with evaluation of specimens by histology and PCR was performed in all patients. Cervical material, endometrial and ovarian biopsy specimens, and peritoneal fluid were tested by PCR on the presence of genetic material of sexually-transmitted microorganisms. Cervical material was tested for human papillomaviruses (types 16 and 18)., Results: Bacteria were isolated from cervical canal specimens in 40% of women. Chlamydia, Ureaplasma, herpes virus type 1 and 2, cytomegalovirus were detected in specimens of cervical canal, endometrium, ovaries and peritoneal fluid in 80%, 38,6%, 34,3%, and 38,46% of women, respectively., Conclusion: In cases of tubal-peritoneal sterility female reproductive system is infected with different pathogenic microorganisms. Growth of microorganisms was detected in 40% of cervical mucosa samples. Intracellular pathogens persist in upper and lower parts of female reproductive system. It was noted that Herpes simplex infection predominated in ovaries.

The study was undertaken to define a role of immunological damage reactions in the pathogenesis of uveitis in the presence of rheumatic diseases on the basis of an in-depth analysis of the immunological characteristics of the disease. A complex immunological study was made in 76 rheumatic patients with uveitis in the acute phase of eye diseases. Among the patients, the males and females were 67.1 and 32.9%, respectively; their mean age was 41+/-6.4 years. The authors made CD typing of lymphocytes, by evaluating the processes of their activation and apoptosis, estimated the amount of the cytokines IL-4, IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha, and soluble TNF-alpha receptor in the serum and tear. The authors have established the following characteristics of an immune response in rheumatic patients with uveitis: a predominant impairment of cellular immunity with an increase in the processes of positive activation of lymphocytes and a reduction in the processes of their apoptosis; formation of Th1 deviation of systemic and local immune responses; elevated levels of the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha in the blood and in the tear in particular. Humoral immunity was found to be activated with a rise in the levels of immunoglobulins of all classes and circulating immune complexes.

Infectious agents were detected in 100% of examined children with Reiter's disease (RD). Chlamydia trachomatis were detected in 98% of cases. In children with RD lesions of joints and eyes often took acute forms with cases of sacroiliitis, early muscular atrophy and conjunctivitis. In 95% of the patients the prostatitis manifestations were detected. In children with RD a rised number of CD lymphocytes in combination with the fivefold rised IL-4 content, an essential increase in the activity of C2-C5 components of the complement and a multiple rised level of PSA were registered.

Immunologic examinations were performed in 111 patients with uveitis concurrent with a variety of systemic pathologies, including 85 males and 26 females, mean age--32.4 +/- 5.8. A higher IL-6 content in blood serum (BS) and in lachrymal fluid (LF) was detected in all patients. The IL-4 content was lower in uveitis associated with ankylosing spondylitis and with Reuter's disease, whereas, it was higher in juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. The systemic immunity changes were related with the hemostasis impairments in the phagocytic, humoral and cellular chains: an enhanced functional activity of phagocyte cells, a lower absolute quantity of T-lymphocytes, a higher count of B-cells, a reduced concentration of IgM and of circulating immune complexes (CIC), and a diminished general hemolytic activity of the complement in BS. A reduced concentration of the secretory fraction of IgA, IgG and IgM concurrent with higher concentrations of IgA, C3- and C4 complement components, CIC and of lysozyme activity in LF was detected in the local immunity system.

The role of immune disturbances on the systemic and local levels is evaluated and the immunological mechanisms of tuboperitoneal sterility as the basis for the development of the methods of immunocorrection is grounded.

Analysis of 37 corneal disks removed in perforating keratoplasty for stages II-IV keratocone and of 15 corneal disks (control) from subjects dead from mechanical injuries at the age of 17-35 years was carried out. The expression of CD95 receptors on keratocyte membranes was evaluated by indirect immunofluorescent label using rabbit antibodies. Keratocyte apoptosis was evaluated by indirect immunofluorescent labeling of nuclear DNA nucleotides. Estimation of the volumic share of keratocytes expressing CD95 on cell membrane showed it to be almost 8-fold higher and apoptosis index almost 5-fold higher in the keratocone corneal disks than in the control. The results indicate the presence of a Fas-mediated mechanism of keratocyte apoptosis and its manifold predominance in the cornea in keratocone. These results are clinically significant for the choice of pathogenetic therapy of patients with keratocone.

Biochemical parameters of the tears, reflecting oxidative processes in the eyes, were analyzed in 79 patients (146 eyes) aged 19-42 years with progressive and acute keratocone and with long remission of the disease. The data indicate disorders in oxidative processes with predominance of aerobic oxidation over anaerobic in the anterior segment of the eye. Evaluation of lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes showed predominance of prooxidant processes over oxidant. These disorders are related in keratocone and differ in progressive, acute condition, and remission. The greatest changes in the lacrimal oxidative processes are observed during the disease progress and even more so in acute disease. The detected changes in the lacrimal biochemistry in patients with keratocone can be regarded as an important mechanism underlying the dystrophic processes in the cornea.

Local immunity is analyzed in 81 patients (146 eyes) aged 16-49 years with three clinical patterns of keratocone. During long remission, IgG level was the maximum. In progressive disease, sIgA and transferrin levels were increased. The most pronounced shifts were detected in the patients with acute keratocone: increased concentrations of IgM, C3 and C4 complement components, alpha 1-antitrypsin, orosomucoid, lysozyme activity, and immune complexes. These data prompt the development of pathogenetically based approaches to the treatment of patients with various clinical immunological types of keratocone.

The etiological structure of the inflammatory diseases of genitals at different levels of the reproductive tract of women with tuboperitoneal sterility was studied. The study revealed the prevalence of cocci in the cervical canal, anaerobes in the endometrium and chlamydiae in the abdominal cavity (peritoneal fluid, the ovarian capsule, fimbriated ends), as well as the presence of mixed infection in 27% of the patients under study. The specific features of immunity in women with tuboperitoneal sterility were established, which determined the main trends of the subsequent pathogenetically oriented immunocorrection.

The population and subpopulation composition of peripheral blood lymphocytes of 33 women was studied in the dynamics of non-complicated pregnancy by the method of flow cytofluorometry with the use of equipment and reagents supplied by Becton Dickinson, Inc. This study revealed that the non-complicated course of pregnancy was characterized by the adequate reaction of the mother's immune system ensuring the physiological development of the fetus during pregnancy and timely labor.

The character of microflora, directly causing inflammatory process in tuboperitoneal infertility, was studied. The study revealed the prevalence of microbial associations, Chlamydia infection was detected in half of the women, and in 17% of the patients this infection was for the first time detected in the upper section of their reproductive apparatus, which was indicative of the role of Chlamydia infection in the occlusion of the uterine tubes. Opportunistic microflora persisting in persons with defective antimicrobial protection was found. The study of local protective factors in peritoneal fluid revealed the absence of T-cell activity, which was manifested by a low level of sIL-2R and the absence of a significant rise in the level of IL-2 in peritoneal fluid in comparison with that in healthy women. In addition, a decrease in the total complement activity and in the activity of component C3 of the complement was established.

A single oral administration of phenoxy herbicides, viz. 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), amino salt, sodium salt, diethylene glycol, iso-octyl and octyl ethers in a dose of LD16, was found to produce a pronounced suppressive effect on humoral immunity on day 5. The 2,4-D derivatives under study, administered in the same dose, stimulated the manifestations of delayed-type hypersensitivity in mice immunized with sheep red blood cells. The effect of the inhibition of antibody formation to thymus-dependent antigen ranged in the order of the increase in the toxicity of substances: amino salt, diethylene glycol ether, 2,4-D, sodium salt, iso-octyl and octyl ethers. On the contrary, the intensity of delayed-type hypersensitivity was more pronounced with regard to substances having greater toxicity.

The detection rate of IgM, specific to cytomegalovirus (CMV), in the umbilical blood was 2.0 +/- 1.8% in infants with antenatal complications in their medical history, 8.9 +/- 1.8% in hospitalized infants aged 7 days to 6 months; simultaneously, such IgM proved to be absent in healthy infants of the same age. The maximum primary detection rate of CMV-specific IgM in hospitalized infants was registered at the age of 1.5-4 months and the minimum detection rate, at the age of 6 months, as well as at the age of 1 month and younger. In sick infants aged 0-6 months CMV-specific IgM were detected, as a rule, for 2-4 weeks. 86% of infants with CMV-specific IgM detected in their blood were found to have cytomegaloviremia; in 80% of patients the virus was excreted with saliva and in 50% the virus was detected in blood plasma.

In experiments on 124 noninbred white rats weighing 180-200 g the influence of the intragastric administration of amino of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in doses of 2.0 and 20 mg/kg daily on the characteristics of their mononuclear phagocyte system was studied. The study revealed a decrease in the number of monocytic precursors in the marrow, an increase in their capacity for colony formation, the inhibited cell function on the periphery of the system simultaneously with the enhancement of oxidizing processes. The metabolic activation of cells was accompanied by their functional insufficiency, which led to the activation of monocytopoiesis and the increased migration of monocytes to peripheral blood.

The character of immune disturbances was studied in women with tuboperitoneal infertility associated with a chlamydial infection. The immunological methods included a study of the population and subpopulation composition of peripheral blood lymphocytes (CD3, CD7, CD22, CD4, CD8, ratio CD4/CD8). The general hemolytic activity of the complement and main components of the complement (C1-C5), the level of IgA, IgM, IgG, the concentration of CIC, the content of IL-2 and its soluble receptor (sIL-2R) were determined in blood serum and in peritoneal fluid before and after treatment. A reduction in the absolute content of lymphocytes, T helpers, the number of B lymphocytes and their functions, the absence of activation of the T cell compartment, is detected. Evidence of this is provided by the low level of sIL-2R and the absence of a reliable rise of IL-2 in the blood serum and peritoneal fluid. The complex therapy of tuboperitoneal infertility associated with a chlamydial infection, with the obligatory inclusion of immunomodulators was effective and was accompanied by normalization of the majority of the immunity indices. Use of the interferon inductor ensured the maximum increase of the absolute content of the lymphocytes in circulation, without any pyrogenic reaction. This made interferon inductors preferable for therapeutic use in the case of this pathology.

The results of the study of humoral immunity in 80 burn patients are presented. A typical feature of all burn patients was a decrease in the total activity of the alternative path of the activation of complement and its factors B and D, beginning from the first day after the trauma. The character of changes in the functional activity of components C1-C5 of the classical path depended on the area of damages with their activation if burn area was less than 20% of the skin surface and deactivation if the burn area exceeded 20%.

65 children with the severe course of bronchial asthma (BA) were examined. The character of respiratory tract microflora, humoral immunity characteristics, mediators, of inflammation and pathomorphological features of the bronchial tree during the severe course of BA in children at the period of remission were studied. The specific features of the colonization of the bronchial tree by microflora in the severe form of BA were established. The severe course of BA in children at the period of remission was characterized by a higher content of tumor necrosis factor and an increase in the lysozyme activity of bronchoalveolar fluid. Disturbances in the proportion of cAMP and cGMP in smooth muscles and an increase in the number of apudocytes containing adrenalin and serotonin may probably be one of the mechanisms of bronchial hyperreactivity.

Local immunity was studied in 81 patients (146 eyes) aged 11-49 with keratoconus at different stages of the disease running different course. The concentrations of IgG, IgM, secretory IgA, lysozyme, immune complexes, C3 component of the complement, transferrin, and alpha 1-antitrypsin are increased in tears of patients with keratoconus, reflecting the activation of local immunity in this condition.

Histotyping of HLA I antigens in 100 patients with keratoconus. Europeoids of the Chelyabinsk district, and of 701 controls (donors listed in the regional register) showed an increased incidence of HLA A28, B12, and B15, a decreased incidence of HLA B8, B13, and complete absence of HLA A11. Estimation of HLA haplotypes in keratoconus showed an increased incidence of haplotypes A1-B5 (relative risk RR = 5.9), A2-B15 (RR = 3.34), A2-B27 (RR = 2.12), and A9-B21 (RR = 4.13) and decreased incidence of A1-B8 (RR = 0.31). The incidence of incomplete phenotypes was 27%. The most incident of incomplete phenotypes was A3-B35. Reliably linked HLA haplotypes A3-B7, A2-B27, A9-B21, and A9-B35 were typical of men with keratoconus, whereas A2-B21 haplotype was characteristic of the female patients.

Total-systems and local immunity parameters were assessed in the lacrimal fluid of 118 patients with nonproliferative and proliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR). Humoral and cellular immunity characteristics of the total-systems immunity were shifted and local immune homeostasis impaired. The most manifest changes were detected in patients with proliferative DR. The authors hypothesize a possible contribution of local immune disorders to the pathogenesis of DR.

Clinical and immunological studies carried out in 251 patients with tuberculous uveitis (TU) revealed three types of inflammatory reactions in the uveal tract in this patient population: productive, exudative, and productive-exudative (mixed), differing by the type of immune disorders. The findings helped develop a clinical immunological classification of TU, taking account of the clinical form of uveitis, type of inflammatory reaction of the uveal tract, disease pattern, involvement of one or both eyes, complications, and the immunopathological variants of TU course.

Based on clinical and immunological examinations of 251 patients with tuberculous uveitis (TU), 3 types of its course (productive, exudative, and mixed) were identified. The immunopathologic pattern of each type was found to be different: the productive type was characterized by delayed hypersensitivity, the exudative one had immediate hypersensitivity, and the mixed one had both. The immunogenetic markers of mixed TU were defined. These included HLA antigens, such as A2, B7, B21, and B27.

Cellular and humoral immunity parameters were studied in patients with keratoconus at different stages, aged 14 to 49 years. The results showed the immune homeostasis to be impaired in patients with local involvement of the cornea. At a total system's level the patients developed shifts in the relative content of T-lymphocytes and their subpopulations, dysimmunoglubulinemia with increased levels of immunoglobulins of the primary immune response in the blood serum, high levels of the C3 and C4 components with a reduction of the total hemolytic activity of the complement, increased levels of NBT-positive and phagocytic cells, and a decrease of the activity of serum lysozyme.

Immunologic homeostasis was studied in 272 women suffering from sterility of a tuboperitoneal and mixed origin. The detected drastic disorders of immunologic homeostasis were characterized by predominant disorders of primary immunity mechanisms (leukopenia, monocytopenia, lymphopenia, reduced concentrations of IgA and IgM, lysozyme and complement in the blood serum). Types II, III, and IV immunopathologic reactions to uterine tube tissue homologous antigen suggest their contribution to a chronic inflammatory process. A relationship between severity of morphologic changes in uterine tubes and degree of immunity defects and immunopathologic reaction manifestation was revealed.

Results of the studies of functional activity of lymphocyte subpopulations T+G, T-G, "O" subpopulations isolated peripheral blood of healthy persons and those with nonspecific ulcerative colitis (NUC) have been presented in this paper. The functional activity of the cells was assessed by means of local xenogeneic graft-vs-host reaction performed on CBA mice and by determination of nonspecific esterase enzyme. It has been established that analogous lymphocyte subpopulations influence the graft-vs-host reaction development in different ways depending on the condition of cell donor state: health/pathology. "O" subpopulations isolated from healthy persons hampered the graft-vs-host reaction development, and on the contrary stimulated it in patients with NUC. The assay of nonspecific esterase in lymphocytes showed that the least activity was noted in T+G and "O" cells in nonspecific ulcerative colitis.

Significant differences were revealed in the content of the complement, beta-lysins and bactericidal activity in persons belonging to different isoantigenic groups in studying 647 donor blood sera. The maximal level of all the three inaices was revealed in of persons belonging to the III group. However, further accumulation of analogous data and their comparison with results of observations of other investigators in various geographical regions is necessary to assess the significance of the results obtained.

The method of multifactor dispersion analysis was used to reveal that the synchronizing effect resulting from the action of the complex of climatic and geophysical environmental factors (day length, barometric pressure, magnetic field perturbations) on the non-specific mechanisms of protection from infections during the year exceeded the results obtained by the mere summation of the influences contributed by each factor. Therefore, the seasonal fluctuations in the functions of the nonspecific resistance of the body against infection were due to the synchronizing action of the complex of geophysical factors changing with the seasons.