HYBRID FORMATION BETWEEN BACTERIAL ENDOTOXINS

Abstract
When endotoxins extracted from enteric bacteria were mixed in the presence of sodium deoxy-cholate and the bile salt was subsequently removed by dialysis or extraction with ethanol, a new type of endotoxin was formed. The latter material as biologically active as the original endotoxins possessed a combination of antigenic determinants that were previously unique to each of the individual endotoxins in the mixture. This hybrid formation between endotoxins was detected by immunodiffusion, radioautography and quantitative precipitation.