Biological and immunological properties of the carboxyl terminus of staphylococcal enterotoxin C1.

Comparisons of recently published primary sequences of staphylococcal and streptococcal pyrogenic toxins prompted an evaluation of biological and immunological properties of the C terminus of staphylococcal enterotoxin C1. The 59 N-terminal amino acids were deleted from the toxin by digestion with trypsin. The resulting fragment (Mr, 20,659) contained the remaining 180 C-terminal residues. This fragment (Trp F1) consisted of two polypeptide chains (Trp F1a and Trp F1b) linked by cysteine residues. Trp F1 was mitogenic, pyrogenic, and enhanced susceptibility of rabbits to lethal endotoxin shock. In addition, this fragment contained at least one antigenic epitope that cross-reacted with enterotoxin B.