Cholera toxin (CT) and the heat-labile enterotoxin from Escherichia coli, when injected intraperitoneally into cycling hamsters but not rats or mice, induced a massive uterine growth similar to that normally induced by the implanting blastocyst during pregnancy. CT and heat-labile enterotoxin are the only known agents that have this action in any species. Uterine weight reached a maximal sixfol...

The amount of crude Campylobacter jejuni enterotoxin present in culture products was quantitated by comparing the response of these preparations with that of pure Escherichia coli heat-labile toxin (LT) in the Chinese hamster ovary assay and in enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays that used GM ganglioside or antisera to LT or both. Maximum C. jejuni enterotoxin production was achieved by growth a...

Thirty-two strains of Escherichia coli belonging to a new O group, O166, were examined. Twenty-one strains had the flagella antigen H27, five had the H15 antigen, five had the H7 antigen, and one was nonmotile. All the H27 strains and the nonmotile strain produced heat-stable enterotoxin but not heat-labile enterotoxin. All the H7 strains produced heat-labile enterotoxin but not heat-stable ent...

A commercial coagglutination assay (COA; Phadebact LT-ETEC) was compared with a Y1 mouse adrenal cell assay for detecting the heat labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli. Of four different media evaluated for use with the COA, only one (modified blood agar) gave a positive result with all strains known to produce heat labile enterotoxin. With modified blood agar, the COA detected 74 (85%) of 87...

The method of passive immune hemolysis of Evans and Evans (Infect. Immun. 16:604-609, 1977) for detection of heat-labile enterotoxin produced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli was modified. A total of 373 strains of E. coli were tested by this method using materials obtained by treating the cells with polymyxin B and rabbit antiserum against cholera enterotoxin, purified by affinity gel colum...

Cholera vibrios produce a single polymeric protein that (i) causes hemagglutination; (ii) appears to participate in their attachment to gut epithelium; (iii) may mediate their detachment from gut epithelium; and (iv) is a protease that hydrolyzes fibronectin and mucin, cleaves lactoferrin, and nicks the A subunit of the choleragen-related heat-labile enterotoxin of Escherichia coli.

Porcine neonatal diarrhea and postweaning diarrhea caused by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) result in significant morbidity and mortality and are economically important diseases of pigs.1 Secretory diarrhea associated with ETEC infection is mediated by any of several enterotoxins, including heat labile enterotoxin (LT), heat-stable enterotoxin-a (STa), and heat-stable enterotoxin-b (ST...

Chemically transformed mouse fibroblasts did not raise their cyclic AMP level in response to Escherichia coli heat-labile enterotoxin. These fibroblasts did, however, incorporate exogenous mono-, di-, and trisialogangliosides. After the uptake of monosialoganglioside galactosyl-N-acetylgalactosaminyl-[N-acetylneuraminyl]-galactosylglucosylceramide (GM1), the cells responded to E. coli heat-labi...

The development of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of heat-labile Escherichia coli enterotoxin is described. The assay, which is based on the immunological similarity between Vibrio cholerae toxin and heat-labile E. coli enterotoxin, is similar in design to a radioimmunoassay but utilizes enzyme-labeled rather than radioactive isotope-labeled reagents. The ELISA s...