Abstract
The properties of a toxin produced by Propionibacterium acnes isolated from patients with Kawasaki disease were investigated. The toxin activity declined gradually during repeated passages in GAM broth but could be recovered by resuspending with fresh GAM broth after ultraf iltration. A larger increase of toxin activity was obtained with digested serum powder than with GAM broth. Inactivation experiments suggested the presence of two components with toxin activity in the culture filtrate. Analysis of the culture filtrate by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis also demonstrated the presence of two proteins which might be responsible for the toxin activity.
