Virulence-enhancing Factor of Hog Gastric Mucin

Abstract

FROM the time of the original discovery of the virulence-enhancing power for bacteria of hog gastric mucin by Miller¹ and, independently, Nungester², the effect has been used extensively in the production of experimental infections of animals, as, for example, in chemotherapeutic and in serum testing (for review, see ref. 3). A large number of different species of bacteria show enhanced virulence when injected intraperitoneally together with the mucin, and the effect is often striking—a reduction of 10⁴–10⁶ in L.D.50 is frequent. Furthermore, the effect is not confined to hog gastric mucin: other mucins have been reported active. This suggests that the mucins coating epithelial surfaces may aid pathogenic bacteria in their initial attack; such a possibility makes the investigation of mucins for a chemical entity producing the effect an interesting problem.