Serological analysis of supernatant liquids of cultures of El Tor vibrios.

Watanabe, Y. (406th Medical General Laboratory, U.S. Army Medical Center, Japan) and O. Felsenfeld. Serological analysis of supernatant liquids of cultures of El Tor vibrios. J. Bacteriol. 85:31-36. 1963.-Supernatant liquids of cultures of El Tor vibrios were analyzed serologically by applying the Ouchterlony agar diffusion technique. There are at least three different water-soluble antigenic components: thermolabile and exotoxin-like, thermolabile-bacterial, and thermostable-bacterial. All rabbit sera containing antibody(s) against the thermolabile exotoxin-like antigen(s) neutralized the lethal and hemolytic activities of the supernatant liquids of the cultures. These antibodies behave differently when absorbed with bacterial cells. The antihemolytic activity was not absorbed, whereas the antilethal was partially absorbed. The possibility of the existence of a nonactive toxin(s), which can stimulate production of antibodies against the lethal and hemolytic principles in the rabbit, was indicated.