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Toxicity of Shiga toxin 1 in the central nervous system of rabbits
J Fujii1, Y Kinoshita, T Yutsudo
1Departments of Microbiology, School of Medicine, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Kitakyushu 807-8555, Japan. jfujii@med.uoeh-u.ac.jp
Infection and Immunity
|September 13, 2001
Abstract:
The action of Shiga toxin (Stx) on the central nervous system was examined in rabbits. Intravenous Stx1 was 44 times more lethal than Stx2 and acted more rapidly than Stx2. However, Stx1 accumulated more slowly in the cerebrospinal fluid than did Stx2. Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated a predominance of Stx1-dependent lesions in the spinal cord. Pretreatment of the animals with anti-Stx1 antiserum intravenously completely protected against both development of brain lesions and mortality.