Heat-labile and heat-stable haemolysins of Campylobacter jejuni.

During studies on the virulence mechanisms of Campylobacter jejuni clinical isolates it became apparent that some strains produced one or more haemolysins and some did not. There was no great difference between Group C (cholera-like) strains and Group D (dysentery-like) strains. The protein haemolysin(s) showed a spectrum of activity against erythrocytes from different animals; with maximum activity against rabbit and minimal activity against chicken erythrocytes. The results suggested a two-stage activation mechanism for haemolysis which involved a multi-hit lytic activity. It was concluded that the C. jejuni haemolysins were not identical to those described in other organisms and they may be involved in iron acquisition in vivo.