Production of Phospholipase C (Alpha-toxin), Haemolysins and Lethal Toxins by Clostridium perfringens Types A to D

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Abstract
To obtain high yields of extracellular enzymes and toxins for immunological analysis, type culture collection strains of C. perfringens type A, B, C and D and 28 fresh isolates of C. perfringens type A from humans were grown in fermentors under controlled conditions in a pre-reduced proteose peptone medium. The type culture collection strains all showed different characteristics with respect to growth rates and pH optima. Production of phospholipase C (.alpha. toxin), hemolysin [assayed vs. sheep erythrocytes] and lethal activity [for mice] varied considerably between the different types. Growth and extracellular protein production in fermentors with pH control and static or stirred cultures were compared. Production of all extracellular proteins measured was markedly improved by cultivation in fermentors with pH control. Strain ATCC13124 produced 5 times more phospholipase C than any of 28 freshly isolated strains of C. perfringens type A grown under identical conditions. Hemolytic and lethal activities of the ATCC strain were equal or superior to the activities of any of the freshly isolated strains. There were no differences in the bacterial yields and in the production of extracellular toxins between type A strains isolated from clinical cases of gas gangrene and abdominal wound and those isolated from fecal samples from healthy persons.