Studies on the Use of Tissue Culture for the Bioassay of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin a

SUMMARY An attempt was made to develop an assay procedure for staphylococcal enterotoxin based on the possible induction of eytopathogenic effects on several strains of tissue culture cells using enterotorin preparations of varying degrees of purity produced in a laboratory medium. The results suggest that the cruder preparations contained a thermolabile cytotoxic material that is removed in whole or in part with progressive purification. No observable cytopathogenic effect could he attributed directly to the enterotoxin.