Analysis of Corynebacterium vaginale by an immunodiffusion technique.

An immunodiffusion technique was employed to study the antigenic relationship of Corynebacterium vaginale isolates, vaginal diphtheroids, and members of the genera Corynebacterium and Lactobacillus. Antisera were prepared against C. vaginale ATCC strain 14018 grown diphasically and on blood agar plates and were tested against extracts of organisms prepared by sonication. Ouchterlony analysis demonstrated that all of the isolates of C. vaginale examined possess a common antigenic determinant. No antigenic relationship was detected between C. vaginale and members of the genera Corynebacterium or Lactobacillus. This study also demonstrated that alterations in the cultural conditions can cause variations in the antigenic composition of C. vaginale.