[Adhesion pili in Yersinia pestis].

Y. pestis cells cultivated at 37 degrees C are capable of agglutinating red blood cells of some animals, which is due to the appearance of pili. The adhesion pili consist of protein subunits with a molecular weight of the order of 12000 daltons, their isoionic point being at pH 4.7. The reaction of hemagglutination was inhibited by the mixture of ganglyosides, while the preliminary treatment of red blood cells with neuraminidases increased its effectiveness. The pili are supposed to take part in the expression of virulence.