Comparison of diphtheria intoxication in human and nonhuman cell lines and their resistant variants

Differences in sensitivity to diphtheria toxin of several toxin-sensitive and toxin-resistant human and non-human cell lines were compared. A method is described whereby it is possible to compare the sensitivity of one cell line with another and obtain meaningful quantitative results. Based on the concentration of toxin required to produce 50% inhibition of protein synthesis after 24 h of exposure the ID50 (24) value toxin-resistant cells were found to be 105 to 106 times more resistant to toxin than toxin-sensitive cells. There was little variation in the ID50 (24) values for cells in each of the two groups. The toxin-resistant cells used in this study, naturally resistant as well as selected variants, possess elongation factor 2 which is susceptible to inactivation by toxin. It is suggested that they are capable of activation of toxin but either cannot bind toxin or are unable to transport toxin across the plasma membrane. Protein synthesis is inhibited when these resistant cells are exposed to high concentrations of toxin. Under these conditions it is likely that enough toxin is able to bypass the block in toxin-specific entry and reach the cytosol by a second, less efficient, nonspecific mechanism to catalyze the inactivation of elongation factor 2 and inhibit protein synthesis.