STUDY ON THE IMMUNOLOGICAL HETEROGENEITY OF CLOSTRIDIUM-BOTULINUM B-TYPE TOXIN

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 27  (5) , 709-714
Abstract
The toxins prepared by dialysis-culture method for proteolytic (P) and non-proteolytic (NP) strains of C. botulinum were different. NP toxins from 3 strains (American, Japanese and Polish) showed a higher activation ratio, lower protein N content and lower neutralization rate compared with P toxins. Antitoxic titers of rabbit anti-P and especially anti-NP sera were always higher when titrated with NP than with P toxins. The values of the regression coefficients in neutralization experiments were not dependent on the sera preparations, but only on the toxins. The difference between the common slope b for several sera tested against P and NP toxins was statistically significant. A difference between the passive protection of mice against P and NP toxins was observed only at very low levels of untiage. B type botulinum toxin may be immunologically heterogeneous. For practical purposes, it is not necessary to supplement therapeutic antitoxin with a factor which neutralizes NP toxin.

This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit: