CHEMICAL STUDIES ON CELLULAR COMPONENTS OF BORDETELLA PERTUSSIS. III. ISOLATION OF HIGHLY POTENT TOXIN FROM BORDETELLA PERTUSSIS.

Onoue, Kaoru (Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan), Masayasu Kitagawa, and Yuichi Yamamura. Chemical studies on cellular components of Bordetella pertussis. III. Isolation of highly potent toxin from Bordetella pertussis. J. Bacteriol. 86:648-655. 1963.-The thermolabile toxin of Bordetella pertussis was extracted at alkaline pH with 0.15 m saline from the disrupted cells. The toxin was purified successively by calcium phosphate gel treatment, ammonium sulfate fractionation, precipitation with potassium phosphate at alkaline pH, and finally by chromatography on a diethylaminoethyl cellulose column. Although the purified toxin still contained a small amount of agglutinin-absorbing activity, and inhomogeneity was detected by the agar gel diffusion test, the lethal and skin-necrotizing activities were much higher than those previously reported. The data obtained suggest that the toxin is proteinaceous.