Polymyxin B-Induced Release of Low-Molecular-Weight, Heat-Labile Enterotoxin from Escherichia coli

Polymyxin B-induced release of enterotoxin from Escherichia coli strain H-10407 was demonstrated. Incubation of E. coli cells derived from 6-h cultures with polymyxin caused the rapid release of enterotoxin with a molecular weight of approximately 20,000, as estimated by the gel filtration technique. The rapidity of the release of enterotoxin indicates that it probably resides in the periplasmic space of the cell. The low-molecular-weight enterotoxin possessed vascular permeability factor and diarrheagenic activities, both of which were found to be heat-labile. The permeability factor activity of this enterotoxin was neutralized by antisera prepared against crude E. coli enterotoxin, Vibrio cholerae enterotoxin (choleragen), and V. cholerae toxoid (choleragenoid), respectively. Supernatant fluids of 6-h E. coli cultures did not contain this molecular form of enterotoxin but did contain very high-molecular-weight, heat-labile enterotoxin. Incubation of cells derived from older (18 h) cultures with polymyxin caused the release of both low- (20,000) and high-molecular-weight forms of enterotoxin. We concluded that either the 20,000-dalton form of heat-labile enterotoxin is not released by E. coli under in vitro growth conditions or that enterotoxin released in this form is rapidly destroyed or inactivated.