Binding of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin to hepatocytes, small intestinal epithelial cells and Vero cells

Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin binds specifically to hepatocytes, Vero cells and rat intestinal epithelial cells, and causes membrane damage visible as "bubble" formation. Fluorescein-labelled enterotoxin also binds specifically to the same cell types. 125I labelled enterotoxin shows one class of binding sites on both Vero and rat intestinal epithelial cells. The number of binding sites decreases along the rat intestine, but the affinity constant is the same in different parts of the intestine.