Abstract
The exact mechanism of the action of the potent material effective in pernicious anemia is still obscure. Certain facts are firmly established, however, such as the prompt reticulocyte response which this material induces, and that infection can inhibit this reaction to varying degrees. The potent material does not influence the peripheral blood of normal rats, rabbits, and dogs, nor, as a rule, does it effect anemias experimentally produced in these animals. However, pigeons seem to be peculiarly sensitive to the potent material. Relatively pure liver extracts injected intravenously, as well as commercial liver extracts fed by mouth, will cause a typical reticulocyte response in normal pigeons. 1 It has been tentatively suggested that this reaction is due to the partially megaloblastic type of bone marrow found in these birds.
To elucidate further the action of liver extract on the red blood cells in the bone marrow, and to obtain some possible explanation for the failure of an adequate reticulocyte response in pernicious anemia patients suffering from infections, the following experiments have been carried out: Three groups of pigeons, kept under standard laboratory conditions, were given, (1) a staphylococcus aureus infection intramuscularly, (2) liver extract No. 343, (N.N.R.) by mouth, and (3) both infection and liver extract. Reticulocytes were followed in the peripheral blood, and, at various stages, tissues from the hematopoietic system were studied for any histological changes. The radial bone marrow was compared throughout, as this, as a rule, is mainly fatty, and extension and hyperactivity when present, is therefore more marked.
The Staphylococcus aureus was obtained from a fatal case of human septicemia. After infection, there was, in many animals, a drop in the reticulocytes from normal, about 10%, to about 5% or lower, the lowest level being obtained from the 3rd to the 5th day.
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