[The process of the persistence of Salmonella typhi L forms in the body of experimental animals studied by immunoradiometric analysis].

The use of the immunoradiometric assay made it possible to reveal a prolonged persistence of the antigen of viable cultures of S. typhi stable L-forms, as well as to study the dynamics of its spread in the body of experimental animals. After both subconjunctival and intraperitoneal infection of guinea pigs the antigen of S. typhi L-forms spread slowly in the body of experimental animals with its localization first in the lymphoid formations in the pharynx and the intestine and subsequent undulatory accumulation in the marrow, spleen and bile. The persistence of the antigen of live S. typhi L-forms lasted as long as 6 months (the term of observation); killed L-forms could be detected for not more than 17 days. Regular inoculations of samples from different organs into media for the cultivation of S. typhi bacterial and L-forms yielded no positive results, which showed the difficulty of obtaining stable L-forms and evidenced the absence of their reversion in the body of experimental animals.