[Toxin production by enteropathogenic colibacilli in adult persons (author's transl)]

Culture filtrates of enteropathogenic strains of E. coli from adult patients with cholera-like diarrhoea produced a rhythm-disturbing effect when injected into isolated sacklets of rabbit ileum. This action was shown to be medium-dependant. It could not be elicited by cultures grown in synthetic medium. Meat extract cultures gave variable results, but the gut movements could be irritated regularly when cultures were grown in a casamino acids - yeast extract medium (table, figure). This activity which was not associated with non-pathogenic strains appeared in the beginning of the stationary phase of growth. The factor responsible for the dysrhythmic effect could be precipitated by ammonium sulphate, was dialysable, withstood boiling for 10 minutes (figure) and treatment with trypsin, chymotrypsin and pancreatin. Antisera prepared against culture filtrates of strain 10407 containing agglutinating and vascular permeability neutralizing antibodies did not neutralize the gut irritating effect efficiently. We conclude that the factor of our assay system is perhaps closely related to the heat-stable enterotoxin described by other authors concerned by E. coli enterotoxins.