FORMATION OF TETANUS TOXIN WITHIN THE BACTERIAL CELL

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Abstract
Intracellular tetanus toxin has been measured by the injection of washed bacilli into mice. The validity of this method of assay is substantiated by the similar results obtained when the signs produced following the injection of cell suspensions with and without penicillin are compared; and further by the fact that antitoxin exerts equivalent protective action against both intracellular and extracellular toxin. The advantages of the method in the study of the dynamics of tetanus toxin synthesis are discussed. The effect of a number of factors on the formation of intracellular toxin has been studied. It is shown that cells grown in a medium designed to produce high titers of toxin may contain 100 times as much toxin as similar cells grown in a nontoxigenic medium.