On certain chemical complementary substances

Abstract

In blood serum there is a constituent known as complement or alexin, which dissolves blood corpuscles or bacteria when the latter are properly sensitized. Its existence can only be demonstrated by the aid of immune bodies or amboceptors. The action of complement disappears when the serum gets old or is heated to 56° C. for a short time. The fate of complement after inactivation is not known. Complement is generally believed to undergo disintegration. Blood serum yields upon warm alcoholic extraction a substance or a group of substances of powerful lytic activity. The same is also true of leucocytes, glands and certain visceral organs. On account of some differences existing in the lytic mechanism and thermal resistance between genuine serum complement and alcoholic “extract lysins,” no direct comparison has been made to establish a possible relationship between these two constituents. Complement is lytic only in the presence of immune bodies, while the extract lysins are active by themselves. The action of complement diminishes with age and is destroyed by a temperature of about 56° C., whereas the extract lysins do not deteriorate with age or on boiling. So the general conception of today is that they are entirely distinct classes of bodies. Up to the present, no account of the parts which may be played by the other serum components has been taken into consideration. A comparison made under different conditions is devoid of value, and observations on this point seem desirable. I have therefore subjected both complement and the “extract lysins” to a comparative study under the same conditions. I have also identified the chemical nature of various extract lysins,” and pure chemical preparations have been subjected to a similar comparative study.