Effect of colicin V on S. sonnei in vivo and in tissue culture.

The effect of the preparation of colicin V, freed from the endotoxin of the producer strain E. coli Ca-7 on Sh. sonnei was studied in the keratoconjunctival tests on guinea pigs and in the cell culture Hep-2. Colicin V was found to inhibit the development of dysenteric infection in vivo by delaying the incubation period. It has been demonstrated that the mentioned colicin blocks the process of adsorption of the causative agent on the surface of epithelial cells. Obviously, colicin V can also display bactericidal effect at the moment of intercellular migration of Shigellae, but it has no effect on bacteria which have penetrated into the cytoplasm of epithelial cells. The obtained data support the opinion of the role of colicins played in the development and course of infectious processes.