XIV. CONCERNING THE ESCAPE OF HAEMOGLOBIN 

 FROM BLOOD CELLS HARDENED WITH CORROSIVE 

 SUBLIMATE. 1 



By HANS SACHS, Assistant at the Institute. 



THE following study was undertaken on reading the results of 

 investigations carried on by Matthes 2 on the role of the immune 

 body (amboceptor) in haemolysis. The peculiarity of his very inter- 

 esting results demands a thorough study of the factors concerned. 



The facts there brought out have been confirmed by us, but the 

 results of our study have led us to regard these facts in an entirely 

 different light. As a result of numerous earlier experiences with 

 pepsin, pancreatin and papain we can confirm the observation that 

 normal as well as sensitized red blood-cells (i.e. cells loaded with 

 immune body) cannot be attacked by digestive ferments. 3 With 

 digestive experiments with pepsin and pancreatin, to be sure, the 

 difficulty exists that the amounts of HC1 and alkali respectively which 

 represents the optimum of action, are in themselves not indifferent 

 for the blood-cells. With these ferments one is therefore forced to 

 work under relatively unfavorable conditions. 



Matthes killed the blood-cells by means of Hayem's solution 

 (which, as is well-known, contains \% mercuric chloride) and 

 found that blood-cells so treated were readily dissolved by means of active 

 pancreas fluid. These fixed blood-cells, which are no longer sus- 

 ceptible to the destructive action even of distilled water, are dissolved 

 by the specific hsemolytic serum and even by their own normal serum. 



1 Reprint from the Muenchener med Wochenschr , 1902, No. 5. 



2 M. Matthes, Experimenteller Beitrag zur Frage der Hamolyse, Muench. 

 med Wochenschr., 1902, No. 1. 



3 According to recent investigations of Dr. Morgenroth, the interesting intes- 

 tinal ferment, erepsin, described by Cohnheim and by him kindly placed at our 

 disposal, is also not able to attack sensitized blood-cells. 



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