The virulence-enhancing factor of mucins. 4. The role of particulate insoluble matter and a viscous medium in virulence enhancement, with a revised assay of the third factor involved

Abstract

Insoluble particulate matter and a viscous medium, alone and combined, enhance the virulence of Salmonella typhi for mice. The activity of hog gastric mucin is due to a synergic action between a particulate residue, a viscous medium and a more specific 3d factor. The biological assay of samples of the 3d factor was revised in the light of this knowledge. It can detect with probability, P=0.95, a difference in activity of 2-2.5 times, using the weighted mean of duplicate assays.