The indirect fluorescent-antibody technique was employed in an attempt to develop a rapid method of identification of Corynebacterium vaginale. Six reference strains and ten clinical isolates selected on the basis of morphology and conventional biochemical tests were compared. Antisera were prepared in rabbits against the six reference strains. The most satisfactory antiserum was that prepared using strain 14018 grown diphasically (14018 Di) as the antigen. Certain of the antisera did exhibit a cross-reacting titer when reacted against Corynebacterium diptheriae, Corynebacterium xerosis, or Lactobacillus acidophilus. However, antisera adsorbed with these bacteria did not exhibit a significant decrease in titer when reacted against the homologous strain. Various other species of Corynebacterium as well as species of Nocardia, Actinomyces, Hemophilus, and Streptococcus did not fluoresce with the antisera. A specific antiserum was prepared by adsorbing anti-14018 Di with L. acidophilus. The adsorption removed the cross-reacting antibody but did not affect the staining reaction with C. vaginale strains. All reference strains and clinical isolates characterized as C. vaginale gave a definite positive reaction with the adsorbed anti-14018 Di. The specificity of the reactions was assessed by adsorbing the antiserum with the homologous strain. The data suggest that the indirect staining method will be of value in the rapid presumptive identification of C. vaginale.

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.

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