Responses of Clostridium botulinum type B and E progenitor toxins to some clostridial sulfhydryl-dependent proteases.

Sulfhydryl-dependent proteases produced by Clostridium botulinum types A, B, and F, Clostridium histolyticum, Clostridium sporogenes and Clostridium perfringens activate preferentially type E over type B progenitor toxin but less efficiently than trypsin. The results explain why activable toxin is demonstrable in culture of a strongly proteolytic type B strain.