[Purification and properties of Bordetella pertussis toxin].

The modified method for the isolation and purification of B. pertussis toxin has been proposed. Chromatography with the use of hydroxylapatite and lentil lectin--Sepharose 4B has permitted the isolation of the preparation purified 600 times. Its molecular weight is about 90,000. The preparation has been found to possess leukocytosis-stimulating, histamine-sensitising and hemagglutinating activity. Electrophoretic analysis has revealed that the isolated substance consists of four subunits with molecular weights 28,400, 24,300, 21,800 and 15,200. This substance has proved to be capable of hydrolyzing NAD+, as well as of suppressing the GTPase activity of transducin, which is indicative of the covalent modification (ADP-ribosylyzing) of GTP-binding protein under the action of B. pertussis toxin. Two methods for the isolation of B. pertussis toxin (from liquid and solid growth media), as well as the isolation of the toxin from different B. pertussis strains, are evaluated.