Abstract
In a previous publication 1 we demonstrated the anticatalase property of sulfanilamide and showed that this attribute is markedly increased by the exposure of dilute solutions to ultraviolet light. It was suggested that anticatalase activity may play an important rôle in the therapeutic action of sulfanilamide against such organisms as the streptococcus and pneumococcus, a theory originally promulgated by Locke. 2
The hypothetical mechanism may be stated as follows: The growing bacterial cell has the power to convert sulfanilamide, presumably through mild oxidation, into a derivative which is a highly active anticatalase.∗ This reaction produces an accumulation of anticatalase in the immediate vicinity of the cell. The streptococcus and pneumococcus, being active producers of hydrogen peroxide, are able to grow only so long as the peroxide concentration can be kept below a critical level by outward diffusion or destruction. Usually this is accomplished by catalase of which there is ample reserve in the body and in cultures containing blood. However, in the presence of anticatalase, inactivation of catalase takes place in the zone immediately adjacent to the cell with resultant accumulation of hydrogen peroxide to toxic levels. The feasibility of this explanation is enhanced if we recall that catalase must diffuse into the reaction-zone from the outside environment, whereas anticatalase and peroxide, produced by the cell itself, are already present in the critical zone in their maximal concentrations.
This report presents experimental evidence in support of the foregoing hypothesis.
Ten cc of a 0.2% glucose broth were placed in each of a series of 50 cc Ehrlenmeyer flasks. This amount gave a surface-volume ratio of approximately 1.6. 3 Catalase was supplied through addition of 5 × 10-5 cc of hemolyzed whole rabbit-blood. This amount consistently gave the most clear-cut results with the particular samples of blood and broth used.
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