Correlation of Toxicity of Normal Globulins with Increased Partition of Mid and End-Piece of Alexin.

Abstract

Bordet 1 has demonstrated that the intravenous injection of globulins from fresh, normal guinea pig serum into guinea pigs is followed by extreme shock and death of the animal, usually within 3 or 4 minutes. In 1925, together with Bordet, further study was made of this phenomenon. 2 In this study it was found that the toxicity of the globulin fraction of guinea pig serum for guinea pigs was destroyed when heated at 70° C. for 1/2 hour; that the toxicity of the globulin fraction remained intact when heated at 60° C. for the same length of time; that the leucocyte count of the animal was decreased to about 1/2 following injection; that the temperature of the animal increased 3 to 4 degrees and there was a delay in the coagulation time of the blood following injection, in some cases as long as 24 hours. At the same time it was shown that injections of globulins intraperitoneally or subcutaneously into guinea pigs were innocuous.

Later, in collaboration with Zunz 3 , it was demonstrated that following the intravenous injection of globulins from guinea pig serum into guinea pigs there was, in some cases, a definite lowering of the surface tension of the plasma. This lowering of the surface tension it was thought might be due to the presence of hemoglobin in the plasma, and this, in turn, was accounted for by the alkalinity or acidity of the injected material. Zunz 4 has shown that the presence of hemoglobin notably lowers the surface tension of both water and plasma.

Our method of precipitating the globulins from guinea pig serum consists in diluting with 20 volumes of water and passing CO₂ gas through the mixture several times.