Abstract
We investigated the potential superantigenic properties of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (CPE) on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). In contrast to the findings of a previous report (P. Bowness, P. A. H. Moss, H. Tranter, J. I. Bell, and A. J. McMichael, J. Exp. Med. 176:893-896, 1992), two different, biologically active preparations of CPE had no mitogenic effects on PBMC. Furthermore, PBMC incubated with various concentrations of CPE did not elicit interleukin-1, interleukin-2, gamma interferon, or tumor necrosis factor alpha or beta, which are cytokines commonly associated with superantigenic stimulation. However, CPE did cause a dose-related release of interleukin-6 from PBMC cultures.