The Journal of Medical Microbiology, Vol 36, Issue 1 30-36, Copyright © 1992 by Society for General Microbiology

JOURNAL ARTICLE

Comparison of Clostridium sordellii toxins HT and LT with toxins A and B of C. difficile

R. D. Martinez and T. D. Wilkins
Department of Anaerobic Microbiology, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg 24061.

Clostridium sordellii produces two toxins, designated HT (haemorrhagic toxin) and LT (lethal toxin), that are similar to toxins A and B of C. difficile. The physicochemical properties of toxins HT and A were remarkably similar. The specific biological activities of toxin HT were almost the same as those of toxin A, and their NH2-terminal sequences shared close homology. The properties of toxins LT and B were similar, as were their NH2-terminal sequences, but toxin B was much more cytotoxic than toxin LT. Immunodiffusion analysis with specific antibodies showed that although toxins B and LT shared major antigenic determinants, each had unique epitopes. The results suggest that toxins B and LT have diverged more than toxins A and HT. Immunoblotting with antibodies to the toxins of C. difficile showed that toxins HT and LT had common antigenic determinants.

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