Pasteurella haemolytica cytotoxin: production by recognized serotypes and neutralization by type-specific rabbit antisera.

A sterile culture supernatant from each of the 12 recognized serotypes of Pasteurella haemolytica was toxic to bovine alveolar macrophages when assayed by 51Cr release. Types appeared to differ in their ability to liberate cytotoxin, although this may have reflected strain variation rather than serotype-related differences. Toxicity was partially neutralized by type-specific rabbit antisera, with neutralization of the homologous toxin being more effective than that of the heterologous serotype.