Abstract
The first thorough investigator of this subject, Meyer, 1 supposed that in the lipoid extract of the tubercle bacillus two different antigens are present and are characterized, beside serological differences, by their different solubility in ether and alcohol. The slight serological differences described by Meyer did not seem to one of us to be sufficient ground for this supposition, all the more as the solubility of the specific substance was found different from the solubility of the preparations of Meyer. 2 Our present observations show that considerable serological differences can be found between certain fractions of the extract, although we are not able to ascertain the true significance of these differences. As was found by Meyer, the serological differences are connected with different solubility of the preparations.
A methyl alcohol extract of the tubercle bacillus strain 597, obtained after previous acetone, ether, and ethyl alcohol extraction, was evaporated and dissolved in ether. The ether soluble part was precipitated twice with four volumes of acetone at 37° C. The acetone precipitate was extracted three times with large amounts of ethyl alcohol under thorough grinding of the precipitate with a glass rod. The alcohol insoluble part was dissolved in ether. When the smallest amount of the alcohol and ether soluble substance giving positive complement fixation reaction was determined with two tubercle bacillus sera, one obtained with the fast growing strain 597, the other with the freshly cultivated strain R, from rabbits, considerable difference was found between the two preparations. The ether solution reacted with one fourth the amount of serum R than with serum 597. The alcohol soluble substance reacted in two and a half times the amount with serum 597 than with serum R.
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