Summary.A clinical isolate of Pseudomonas cepacia from a cystic fibrosis patient was examined for its ability to produce extracellular toxic material. The organism was grown to stationary phase in a defined medium and toxic material was isolated by ultrafiltration, ion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-Sephacel and gel-filtration chromatography on Sepharose 4B. It consisted of a surface carbohydrate antigen, lipopolysaccharide and protein, and had an LD50 (when injected intraperitoneally into mice) of 395k2Opg. The toxicity appeared to be associated with the lipopolysaccharide portion of the complex, because boiling for 15 min and exposure to proteolytic enzymes had no effect on toxicity. However, saponification destroyed the toxicity of the compound. Studies employing radial immunodiffusion with the sera of mice infected with this organism demonstrated production of the complex in uiuo at levels approaching those sufficient to produce death. When sublethal amounts of this complex were placed in the lungs of specific-pathogen-free rats, the lung pathology observed after 12, 24, 36 and 48 h was extensive. However, antibody generated in rabbits against this material could protect mice against the complex, as well as against challenge by the homologous organism. These data indicate that extracellular toxic material produced by P . cepacia may be responsible for the lethality and lung tissue destruction normally associated with an active pneumonia caused by this organism.

Summary. Six isolates of Pseudomonas cepacia, representing various serotypes of the organism and possessing similar degrees of virulence in mice, were examined for their production of an extracellular toxic complex (ETC) in vitro. This compound is lethal for mice and produces extensive lung pathology in rats; it is composed of a surface carbohydrate antigen, lipopolysaccharide and protein. All six isolates produced the ETC. The LD50 values for the six ETC preparations ranged from 395 pg for strain 61g to 1750 pg for strain 90ee. Only two of the six ETC preparations contained ketodeoxyoctonate detectable by the methods used, and these two were the most toxic. Rabbit antiserum to the ETC of a serotype D strain could significantly protect mice only against serotype D strains. Examination of the various phases of growth of P. cepacia showed that there was extracellular release of the ETC beginning in the early logarithmic phase and continuing through the late stationary phase. The presence of the ETC in the supernatant fluids was due to release of this material rather than to cell lysis. In addition, at least one strain of P. cepacia was shown to produce an alginic acid-like compound.

Ten clinical isolates of Pseudomonas cepacia from the sputum of cystic fibrosis patients were examined for the ability to produce lipase. Lipase substrates used included egg yolk agar, four different polyoxyethylene sorbitans (Tweens), and p-nitrophenylphosphorylcholine, a chromogenic substrate used to assay for phospholipase C. Lipase activity was detected in the filtrates of organisms grown to the exponential phase in either tryptose minimal medium or chemically defined medium. Lipase activity increased in the filtrates if the cultures were allowed to proceed into the stationary phase. None of the isolates produced phospholipase C. Lipase activity on Tween 20 ranged from 41.6 x 10-3 to 640.0 x 10-3 U/,ig of protein. The activity was similar or slightly lower when Tween 40, 60, or 80 was used as the substrate. There was no correlation between lipase activity on Tween and that demonstrated on egg yolk agar. Lipase activity increased as pH increased from 7.0 to 9.0. Boiling for 5 min resulted in 66% loss of enzyme activity. The remaining activity continued to decrease with increasing boiling time. The enzyme was purified by gel filtration on Sephadex G-200, and the resultant preparation, when subjected to polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, resulted in a single protein band (molecular weight, approximately 25,000) from which lipase activity could be eluted. The purified lipase was not cytotoxic to HeLa cells, nor was it toxic when injected intravenously into mice.