Effect of Diphtheria Toxin Upon Vitamin G in Adrenals of Guinea Pigs

Abstract

Interest in the effect of seasonal variations in the diet of guinea pigs upon their susceptibility to bacterial toxins led to an extensive study 1 of the metabolism of vitamin A in these animals. The results indicated the participation of some other factor or factors in the increased variations in susceptibility which occur during the winter months. Published reports 2 , 3 directed our attention to vitamin C.

The guinea pigs used in the experiments were bred by this laboratory and weighed from 230 to 280 gm. They had been fed the routine winter diet: alfalfa hay, oats, barley, commercial rabbit pellets, cabbage, carrots and mangels, and sodium chloride and water ad libitum, During May, occasional supplements of grass were fed.

The adrenals of 10 guinea pigs injected early in December with a uniform lethal dose of diphtheria toxin were examined for their vitamin C content by the method of Bessey and King. 4 One of 10 similar animals which had received one-half the dose of toxin, and one uninjected control were destroyed as each in the first group died. The average vitamin C content of the adrenals of the guinea pigs which had died from the effects of diphtheria toxin was reduced to less than 15% of that of the control animals. The change was much less in the adrenals of the 10 animals that received half the lethal dose of toxin. The average amount of vitamin C was 85.5% of that of the normal controls. In fact, the adrenals of the 5 which were destroyed approximately 48 hours after injection showed an increase in the vitamin C content, and it was not until 24 hours later that a diminution became apparent.