Abstract
The phosphatide of the tubercle bacillus isolated by Anderson 1 and shown to be causatively related to proliferation of epithelioid cells and tubercle formation by Sabin 2 has also been investigated in relation to its antigenic properties (Pinner 3 ). Animals injected with this compound do not develop increased resistance to subsequent inoculation with viable tubercle bacilli (Sabin, l.c.).
Earlier communications 4 , 5 have pointed out that the cleavage of phosphatide in the mammalian organism is effected by two enzymes, a lecithinase and a phosphatase. The lecithinase liberates fatty acids that inhibit further action of the enzymes, with the result that the phosphatase cannot complete the cleavage of the phosphatide. On these premises search was made for a compound that would require the same enzymes for its breakdown but yield fatty acids that would not inhibit the function of the enzymes. It was postulated that a compound of such type administered in increasing doses might augment activity of the enzymes. This might hasten the breakdown of the tubercle phosphatide and prevent formation or accelerate disappearance of the tubercle that results from the phosphatide.
The sodium salt of the cinnamoyl glycerol phosphatidic acid+ (SCG) was found to fulfill the preliminary requirements.
Each of a group of 6 rabbits received 18 intravenous injections of increasing doses of SCG totaling 435 mg. After the first 3 weeks, the individual animals were injected intraperitoneally with 210 mg tubercle phosphatide, when the total quantity of SCG they had received was 57.5 mg. The SCG treatment was continued for 3 weeks. Two months after discontinuance of the tubercle phosphatide injections, the experiment reached the stage when anatomical and histological study was desired.
Six rabbits of the same stock and of similar weight were used as controls.
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