[Functional characteristics of the antioxidative system in mycobacteria grown on perfluorodecalin-modified media]

The growth of mycobacteria on perfluorodecalin-modified media was shown to be accompanied by distinct alterations in the activity of the antioxidant enzyme system in M. bovis BCG and M. lufu. In M. bovis BCG the levels of glutathione transferase and glutathione peroxidase-hydrogen peroxidase activity are decreased by 45.47% and 100.88%, respectively. In M. lufu, on the contrary, the level of superoxide dismutase is increased by 42.23%, with no changes observed in the levels of glutathione transferase and glutathione peroxidases. The data obtained suggest physiological heterogeneity of mycobacteria and, thus, open prospects for the differential approaches to the problem of increasing the efficacy of in vitro cultivation of various mycobacterial species, including M. leprae.