Pathogenesis of Salmonellosis: Salmonella Exotoxins

The first section of this report is a manuscript which was presented at the Fifth International Symposium on Intestinal Microecology in Columbia, Missouri on June 1, 1978. It has been reviewed and accepted for publication in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, and we expect that will appear in the February issue. The manuscript is included here since it contains most of the research data on Salmonella exotoxins generated during this period 12177- 9178. The manuscript is followed by a summary of additional results which we feel will benefit future research in this area. Two clinical isolates of Salmonella typhimurium were shown to produce two skin permeability factors. One factor was heat stable and rapid in onset while other was heat labile and elicited maximal induration by 18-24 hours. The rapid, erythematous PF response could not be prevented by antisera to cholera toxin or Salmonella antisomatic serum, but it could be simulated by high concentrations of LPS from S. typhimurium. The appearance of the delayed RF reaction was indistinguishable from that of purified cholera toxin. Histological comparisons of rabbit skin injected with Salmonella delayed PF and cholera toxin revealed that both toxins resulted in gross edema and infiltration of PMNs after 18 hours.