Influence of <i>Yersinia pestis</i> with different plasmid composition on the erythrocyte membrane in the blood of guinea pigs

Introduction. Based on data on the role of blood erythrocytes in the development and implementation of the vaccine and infectious processes in plague, it was of interest to evaluate changes in erythrocyte surface architecture from the position of searching for informative criteria for the preclinical evaluation of anti-plague vaccines. Aim — using atomic force microscopy to characterize the state of the blood erythrocyte membrane of guinea pigs in response to subcutaneous administration of the vaccine strain Yersinia pestis EV NIIEG and its isogenic derivatives. Materials and methods. For immunization of animals strain Y. pestis EV NIIEG (pYT+, pYV+, pYP+) and its isogenic derivatives Y. pestis KM216 (pYT–, pYV–, pYP+), Y. pestis KM217 (pYT–, pYV+, pYP–), Y. pestis KM218 (pYT–, pYV–, pYP–) were used. Analysis of the erythrocyte membrane was carried out using a Solver P47-PRO scanning probe microscope (NT-MDT, Russia). Results. The most pronounced changes in the surface architectonics of the membrane of guinea pig erythrocytes were established during the first three days of the formation of the immune response to the Y. pestis EV strain NIIEG and its isogenic variant Y. pestis KM217, in the genome of which the pYV plasmid is preserved, administered at a dose of 5 × 108 CFU. A significant increase (p 0.05) in the proportion of transformed cell forms (43.67 ± 3.63% and 37.83 ± 7.03% versus 4.08 ± 0.86% in the control group), root mean square roughness (319 ± 8 nm and 312 ± 7 nm versus 70 ± 6 nm in the control group), Young's modulus (125.73 ± 4.48 kPa and 113.8 ± 5.41 kPa versus 53.03 ± 1.47 kPa in the control group). By the 21st day, the value of these indicators decreased by an average of 2.7, 2.0 and 1.5 times, respectively, indicating restoration of the erythrocyte membrane. Conclusion. The dependence of the changes in the erythrocyte membrane and the rate of their restoration on the plasmid composition of Y. pestis strains has been established. The data obtained contribute to the understanding of the processes of interaction of Y. pestis with the erythrocyte membrane and can be used as additional characteristics in the development of new criteria for preclinical evaluation of plague candidate vaccines.