Studies on the Side Reactions of Tetanus Toxoid

Abstract

In this series of studies, peptone and heart infusion were studied for allergenicity with special reference to the reaction of immediate type in guinea pigs, since some of the side reactions of tetanus toxoid following the inoculation were apparently related to the allergy caused by materials contained in the medium used for the toxin production.The previous paper showed that heart infusion was more allergenic than peptone, and that the allergenicity was presumably related to substance(s) of large molecular weight. On the other hand, the toxin production was promoted by substance(s) of small molecular weight contained in the infusion.This paper demonstrated the existence of allergenic substance(s) derived from the constituents of the medium in the preparations of purified tetanus toxoid.To remove the antigenic substance(s) effectively, fractionation with ethanol or dialysation of peptone or heart infusion was tried, and the following conclusions were obtained.1) All the components effective for the toxin production in heart infusion were dialyzable. A maximum toxin production was shown with an amount of 0.5% of the dialysate. Most of the effective materials of peptones were also dialyzable.2) No significant differences were observed in the potencies of the toxins between media consisting of dialyzed and undialyzed materials of both constituents.3) The toxoid sample derived from a medium consisting of the dialysate of both components was higher in purity and lower in allergenicity to materials in medium than that derived from a medium containing undialyzable materials. No significant difference was found in potency between both toxoid samples.4) The effective components for toxin production in heart infusion were soluble in 85% ethanol. The soluble fraction, however, still contained allergenic materials, though it induced no precipitation with trichloroacetic acid.