Adsorption of Staphylococcus Bacteriophage by Serum Globulins.

Abstract

It is well known that bacteriophage may be precipitated from bouillon by alcohol, acetone, and magnesium sulphate. The lytic principle is only slightly impaired by this procedure though length of time of exposure and temperature have been shown to be limiting factors. It is thought that the lytic principle is adsorbed onto protein and hence is naturally carried down with the precipitate. Hauduroy 1 has shown that gelatin, as well as other similar substances, such as agar, gum, etc., will arrest the action of the bacteriophage. Bronfenbrenner 2 states that the influence of agar or gelatin in inhibiting bacteriophagy depends on the fact that these agents prevent water from entering the bacterial cells. De Necker 3 has shown that colloidal metals, bone charcoal, and serum exercise an inhibitory effect upon the bacteriophage and this author thinks that the nature of the adsorption suggests that the lytic principle is a ferment. Angerer 4 has shown that killed Flexner dysentery bacilli adsorb about 70% of homologous bacteriophage within 15 minutes. Hauduroy 5 claims to have demonstrated a fixation of the lytic principle by the addition of antidysenteric serum to tubes containing B. dysenteriae Shiga and its homologous bacteriophage. In all of these experiments the authors have been dealing with adsorption phenomena. Recently Gay and Holden 6 have shown that a strain of herpes virus (rabbit brain emulsion) when suspended in distilled water may be precipitated with the globulins by bubbling CO₂ gas through the mixture. Resuspension of the globulins in saline when injected intracerebrally into rabbits produced encephalitis. This may also perhaps be regarded as an adsorption phenomenon.

The completeness and thoroughness of such adsorption processes is illustrated by the following experiment with a bacteriophage lytic for Staphylococcus aureus: