Staphylococcal Antitoxin Research Articles

Phagocytic and bactericidal activity of granulocytes in diabetic children.

Phagocytic and bactericidal activity of granulocytes were estimated in granulocytes of normal and diabetic children. The influence of candidal, tuberculin antigens, and staphylococcal antitoxin on these parameters was also tested. Thirty diabetic and forty healthy children made up the study group. Their ages were 6-18 yr. The disease duration was from 1 to 12 yr. Granulocytes from diabetic children demonstrated a normal ability to absorb staphylococcus. On the other hand, the capacity for intercellular killing of bacteria by granulocytes of diabetic children was decreased.

Chemical modification of human IgG as a method of demonstrating differences between properties of antibodies and natural antiglobulins (homoreactants)

Naturally arising antiglobulin factors, or homoreactants (HR) contained in preparations of human IgG are inactivated by incubation in a solution of sodium thiocyanate (3–5 M) and sodium deoxycholate (0.005 M). Staphylococcal antitoxin contained in the same human IgG preparations is resistant to the action of these reagents. The results point to differences in the structure of HR and antibodies.

Tryptophan metabolism and toxin formation in Staphylococcus aureus Wood 46 strain.

Tryptophan analogs known to act selectively on protein synthesis were used to study the effects of tryptophan depletion on the formation of Staphylococcus aureus (Wood 46 strain) toxic material. The production of toxin during growth and its presence in culture supernatants were followed by determining alpha hemolytic activity in rabbit blood agar, lethality for mice, and immunodiffusion patterns with staphylococcal antitoxins. The following results were obtained when the bacteria were grown in the presence of 4- and 5-methyltryptophans and 7-azatryptophan: (1) growth inhibition from 20 to 50%; (2) loss of alpha hemolytic activity; (3) inability of culture supernatants to kill mice; (4) decrease in the number of antigens precipitating with staphylococcal antitoxin and absence of reaction with purified alpha antitoxin. No significant effects were observed with 5-fluorotryptophan; 6-methyltryptophan was totally inactive. All inhibitions were reversed by L-tryptophan, anthranilic acid, and indole, but only partially by chorismic acid, and not at all by shikimic acid. These observations are suggestive of a predominant role of L-tryptophan in the synthesis of staphylococcal alpha toxin.

Purified staphylococcal alpha toxin: effect on epithelial ion transport.

Purified staphylococcal alpha toxin, when added to the serosal bathing medium of the isolated toad bladder, causes a rapid fall in short-circuit current and transepithelial potential difference. It has no effect when added to the mucosal bathing medium. Oxygen consumption by suspensions of minced bladder tissue is stimulated by the toxin. These effects are neutralized by staphylococcal antitoxin.

CONTENU EN ACIDES NUCLÉIQUES DE SOUCHES DE TAPHYLOCOQUES PRÉSENTANT DES DIFFÉRENCES D'ANTIGÉNICITÉ ET DE VIRULENCE

In this work, which is a first step in a study on the mechanism of virulence in staphylococci in relation to some of their genetic factors, two groups of strains were constituted. One group is made of haemolytic, coagulase-positive, and DNase-positive strains, which are virulent for mice by the intracerebral route, and the other group of non haemolytic, coagulase-negative, and DNase-negative strains, which are avirulent for mice. Results have shown that the pathogenic group of strains, containing virulence factors, has a lower nucleic acid content (% of dry cells) than the non-pathogenic group.The two groups of strains are less differentiated by their nucleic acid content than by their coagulase, haemolysin, and DNase activities. A closer correlation seems to exist between this nucleic acid content, and the virulence for mice, and also the number of precipitating antigens obtained with staphylococcal antitoxin.

Changes in immunodiffusion patterns and in nucleic acid content of Staphylococcus aureus grown in the presence of a nucleic acid fluorochrome.

Sonea, S. (University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada), J. de Repentigny, and A. Frappier. Changes in immunodiffusion patterns and in nucleic acid content of Staphylococcus aureus grown in the presence of a nucleic acid fluorochrome. J. Bacteriol. 84:1056-1060. 1962.-When grown in the presence of acridine orange, coagulase-positive Staphylococcus aureus exhibits changes in the number and the shape of its precipitin bands; these are more pronounced with commercial horse staphylococcal antitoxin than with normal human gamma-globulin. Simultaneously, there is an increase in the content of nucleic acids, especially deoxyribonucleic acid. Consequently, when grown in the presence of this nucleic acid fluorochrome, pathogenic staphylococci become similar to nonpathogenic strains in their antigenic structure and nucleic acid content. The bacterial population becomes a mixture of red and green fluorescing cells of different sizes. After centrifugation, most of the large and red fluorescing cells are found in the top layer, which shows more changes in antigenic composition and in nucleic acid content than the bottom layer. In subcultures grown in the absence of acridine orange, the cells revert to the original composition of the pathogenic strains.

Phospholipase Activity of Staphylococcal Toxin

IN view of an earlier finding that phospholipase A had an antagonistic effect on staphylococcal toxin in mice1, and a later observation that staphylococcal antitoxin gave some protection in mice against phospholipase A (ref. 2), the possible phospholipase activity in staphylococcal toxins was investigated.

Experimental Studies on the Occurrence of Staphylococcal Antitoxin in the Whey of Cows

SUMMARY Antitoxin was not detected in the whey of non-vaccinated cows until 3 days after experimental infection of the udder with staphylococci. In cows vaccinated with an adjuvant cell-toxoid prepared from Staph, aureus strain 201 and subjected to mammary challenge with the homologous strain, antitoxin appeared in the whey within 6 hours of infection. Mammary inoculation of vaccinated cows with 10 ml. distilled water also induced a rapid occurrence of antitoxin in the milk. It is concluded that some degree of irritation of the mammary epithelium is necessary before circulating antitoxin can pass into the milk.

Staphylococcal Antitoxin in the Blood and Milk of Cattle

Staphylococcal Antitoxin in the Blood and Milk of Cattle

TRANSMISSION OF STAPHYLOCOCCAL ANTITOXIN (ANTI-HÆMOLYSIN) FROM MOTHER TO CHILD

TRANSMISSION OF STAPHYLOCOCCAL ANTITOXIN (ANTI-HÆMOLYSIN) FROM MOTHER TO CHILD

Availability of Staphylococcal Antitoxin After Intramuscular Injection into Normal Monkeys and Men.

Summary and ConclusionsAfter intramuscular injection of staphylococcal antitoxin the rate of absorption is quite uniform in normal monkeys and humans. The antibody available in the total plasma-volume during a given period of days after injection of a specified dose (per kg weight) may be determined from the area under the curve, formed with time intervals as abscissae and daily concentrations of antibody per cc as ordinates, multiplied by the plasma volume. This new method of calculating available circulating antibody has also been applied successfully to the data of Glenny and Hopkins3 on diphtheric antitoxin and hence may be of general im-munological interest.

The unity of the hæmolytic, dermonecrotic and lethal properties of staphylococcal exotoxin and of their corresponding counterparts in staphylococcal antitoxin

The unity of the hæmolytic, dermonecrotic and lethal properties of staphylococcal exotoxin and of their corresponding counterparts in staphylococcal antitoxin