A sampling of lactobacilli from the German National Collection of Microorganisms and L. fermentum 90 TS-4 (21) reference strain clone 3 (Russian Federation) were studied. The results indicate that the receptors on the surface of lactobacillus strains from the German collection had no structures complementary to type 1 fimbriae, though adhesins of some of them reacted with mannose and galactose receptors. Adhesion on a monolayer of continuous cell cultures showed that adhesion activity of lactobacilli was a function of many derivatives, and hence, the choice of a model for evaluation of the adhesion characteristics of the strain should be based on adhesins exhibiting universal properties in different test systems. One of them can be lectin-binding adhesin; its expression on the surface of cultures of lactobacilli from the German collection varies within the same range as was shown previously for lactobacilli, studied by the same criterion. The molecular weight of lectin-binding adhesin is 25-30 kDa, and the corresponding receptors are frequently present on various eukaryotic cells, and hence, cell models can be considered as the most adequate for studies of the competitive interactions between lactobacilli and adhesins of pathogenic microorganisms.

Six lactobacillus species and 4 clones of one of them were studied in order to clear out the ratio between the adhesion capacities of concanavalin A-reactive glycoprotein adhesins on the surface of the bacterial cell and glycoprotein adhesins released into the broth during culturing in liquid nutrient media. The adhesive activity of cultures is largely determined by the strain rather than species appurtenance. Elimination of glycoprotein adhesins from the bacterial cell and their antagonistic activity towards Candida albicans were demonstrated in specific interactions of glycoprotein adhesins with immune serum and concanavalin A.

Laboratory studies of lyticase (enzymatic drug) as an antimycotic agent were carried out. The enzyme reduced optical density of Candida albicans test culture, inhibited adhesion of yeast-like fungi on vaginal epitheliocytes, stimulated the formation of germinative tubes, and made Candida albicans more available for phagocytosis.