The host reaction to the administration of different components of Coxiella burnetii

: After the intraperitoneal injection of corpuscles of C. burnetii antigen (Ag), phospholipid (PL), and sediment obtained after the extraction of PL from Ag with chloroform-methanol (CM) slight leukocytic reaction developed in the peritoneum on day 1, and on day 2 it could be observed in the liver and in the spleen. Ag induced the most pronounced morphological changes. In the spleen they were manifested by the activation of T- and B-dependent zones of white pulp from day 2 and by the pronounced hyperplasia of reticular cells and macrophages, leading to splenomegaly, by days 7-14. Simultaneously lymphoid-macrophagal granulomas and hepatomegaly developed in the liver. By days 7-14 the foci of necrosis in the liver were caused by the thrombosis of portal veins and were not registered after the injection of PL and CM (and earlier also in experiments with Ag in doses of 0.1-0.3 mg).