Open AccessNeutralizing Activity Against Clostridium difficile Toxin in the Supernatants of Cultured Colostral Cells
Author(s) -
Naoki Wada,
Naomi Nishida,
Susumu Iwaki,
Hitoshi Ohi,
Toshio Miyawaki,
Noboru Taniguchi,
Shunsuke Migita
Publication year - 1980
Publication title -
infection and immunity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.508
H-Index - 220
eISSN - 1070-6313
pISSN - 0019-9567
DOI - 10.1128/iai.29.2.545-550.1980
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , toxin , enterotoxin , clostridium difficile toxin a , neutralizing antibody , colostrum , antibody , clostridium difficile , biology , clostridium difficile toxin b , immunology , escherichia coli , biochemistry , antibiotics , gene
Human colostral specimens were obtained from 60 Japanese postpartum women within the first 3 days after delivery. Neutralizing activity against Clostridium difficile toxin was evaluated with Y1 adrenal cells in miniculture. When Y1 adrenal cells were exposed briefly to the toxin, they showed a rounding response in culture, resembling that effected by Escherichia coli enterotoxin; however, preincubation of the toxin with aqueous phase of colostrum significantly reduced its cytopathic effect on Y1 adrenal cells. Of 60 colostral specimens, 17 samples had neutralizing activity against the toxin. Cell-free supernatants of colostral cells cultured for 7 days without mitogens contained significant amounts of both immunoglobulin A (IgA) and IgM, but very small amounts of IgG. Neutralizing activity of cell-free supernatants of cultured colostral cells was evaluated as described above. Neutralizing activity against the toxin was identified in five samples of culture supernatants out of 60 colostral cell specimens. In all five cases, the aqueous phase of colostrum also had a neutralizing effect against C. difficile toxin. Neutralizing activity against the toxin found in five supernatants of cultured colostral cells was completely abolished only by anti-human IgA antibody as assessed by immune precipitation.