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. 1984 Oct 1;160(4):1253–1258. doi: 10.1084/jem.160.4.1253

A common antigenic determinant found in two functionally unrelated toxins

PMCID: PMC2187476  PMID: 6207263

Abstract

The heat-stable enterotoxin ST Ib produced by enterotoxigenic E. coli strains shares a sequence homology with the sea snail neurotoxin, conotoxin GI. Rabbit antisera were raised against synthetic analogs of these toxins and to a six-residue peptide representing the region common to both toxins. Results from enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays indicate that the homologous region of both toxins represents part of their antigenic site. The lack of cross-reactivity exhibited by the six- residue common domain with serum directed against either toxin suggests that this region probably retains a similar conformation in the intact toxins but not in the isolated fragment.

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Selected References

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