Effects of Bordetella bronchiseptica dermonecrotizing toxin on bone formation in calvaria of neonatal rats.

The effects of Bordetella bronchiseptica dermonecrotizing toxin on bone formation were investigated using a purified toxin preparation. Single injection of 4.3 ng of the toxin into the subcutaneous tissue overlying the calvariae of neonatal rats necrotized periosteum of parietal bone and degenerated osteoblasts within two days. Nine days after the injection, the lesion of the bone tissue became severe; the bone matrix became thin and fragmented. These observations indicate that dermonecrotizing toxin without other factors produced by the organisms impairs bone formation.