Institute for Cellular and Intracellular Symbiosis, Orenburg, Russia
Lysozyme is one of the most important factors of i
ate immunity, possessing anti-microbial action against a wide range of microorganisms due to cationic nature of protein and, in a lesser degree, due to muramidase activity. In the process of evolution, different mechanisms of lysozyme inhibition, defined as anti-lysozyme activity (ALA), were formed in microorganisms. The usage of the delayed antagonism principle allowed to reveal anti-lysozyme sign in microorganisms of different phylogenetic groups. In the review, data on the occurrence and level of anti-lysozyme activity in pathogens and representatives of normal microflora were presented; findings on nature and genetic determinants of lysozyme inhibitors are given. questions on drug regulation of ALA of the causative agents in infectious diseases and dysbiotic conditions are discussed. nZh. Mikrobiol. (Moscow), 2006, No. 4, P. 8—13