A new toxin in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli?

Although Campytobacter has been recognised as one of the most important causes of human gastroenteritis, until now little is known about the pathogenesis of the infection and there is some confusion about the number and specificity of toxic factors produced by those microorganisms. These may be a reflex from strain selection, individual production of more than one toxin or the result of using different conditions. Some Campylobacter strains are known to produce different toxins, namely, a enterotoxin (CJT), a cytotoxin and a cytolethal distending toxin (CLDT). The heat-labile enterotoxin from Campylobacter isolates produces a cytotonic response in Y-1 mouse adrenal and Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells7. This toxin stimulates cyclic AMP, and is structurally and immunologically related to both cholera toxin (CT) and E.coli heat-labile toxin (LT). The cytotoxin manifests ceil killing activity against cells of various tissue culture systems, including Vero, HeLa, MRC-5, and Hep-2 lines. More recently, a new heat-labile toxin cytotethal to CRO, Vero, HeLa and Hep-2 cells and negative in Y-1 cells, was described. lhis toxin - CLDT causes a progressive distention and eventual cytotoxicity in the tissue cells mentioned above. In our study we report on a probable new Campytobacter toxic factor (TF) observed in strains isolated from human gastroenteritis that shows activity on Vero, Hep-2 and CHO cells.