Reduction of the cytolytic action of staphylococcal alpha toxin by progesterone.

Staphylococci are efficient chemical factories producing a variety of toxic products. Of the many virulence factors elaborated by these microorganisms, the alpha toxin appears to be most closely associated with tissue damage. It has been known that staphylococcal alpha toxin exerts a cytopathic effect on rabbit smooth muscle and kidney cells," mouse kidney cells,' chick embryo cells,' guinea pig skin,' human amnion, kidney and skin cells,1"' as well as Ehrlich ascites carcinoma cells.7 The study now to be reported demonstrates that progesterone in pharmacological concentrations is capable of diminishing the cytolytic action of staphylococcal alpha toxin for primary rabbit kidney cells and represents an approach to the elucidation of the previously reported suppression of furunculosis by steroids.'&'