In vitro formation of hybrid toxins between subunits of Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin and those of cholera enterotoxin.

Heat-labile enterotoxin (LT) was purified from cells of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli isolated from a patient with traveller's diarrhea. Purified LT was separated into A and B subunits by treatment with 6 M urea solution in 0.1 M propionic acid (pH 4.0). Biologically active toxin was reconstituted from isolated A and B subunits of LT. Hybrid toxins with biological activity were obtained in vitro from the A subunit of cholera enterotoxin and B subunit of LT, and from the A subunit of LT and B subunit of cholera enterotoxin. The hybrid toxins show a similar toxicity to that of the parent toxins from which the A subunits were derived. The in vitro formations of the hybrid toxins were confirmed by polyacrylamide gel disk electrophoresis.