366 BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF RADIATION 



in regard to alexin (page 358) one may be permitted to doubt the finality 

 of Lusztig's findings. 



There seem to have been no experiments on the effects of radium radia- 

 tion on hemolysins. Quite probably, if tried, they were not described 

 because of lack of positive results. 



Specific Bacteriolysins. — In addition to normal bacteriolytic powers, 

 possibly of the alexin type, referred to above (page 363), blood serum may 

 acquire specific bacteriolytic powers analogous to specific hemolysins. 

 Baroni and Jonesco-Mihaiesti (13) found that such a lysin, from the serum 

 of a cholera-immune horse, was inactivated by ultra-violet irradiation in 

 about the same time as a specific hemolysin which they also studied, 

 i.e., in 7^^ to 9 min. as compared with 4^^ to 6 min. Heuer (85) made 

 similar observations on a rabbit anticholera bacteriolysin. 



Syphilitic Antibody and Alexin Fixation. — Sera of patients with 

 active syphilis usually contain a principle whose protective powers are, 

 to say the least, doubtful, but which in conjunction with an appropriate 

 antigen in vitro inactivates any alexin present. This inactivation appears 

 to be a variant of the complement fixation or Bordet-Gengou phenome- 

 non, which results when approximately equivalent amounts of a specific 

 antibody, e.g., antityphoid serum, and its corresponding antigen, in this 

 case B. typhosus, but not B. coli, or some other species, are mixed, and 

 form a compound or amicronic precipitate. This compound either 

 combines with or adsorbs alexin, or in some way so affects the mixture 

 that its alexin property is lost. (Excessive amounts of alexin are only 

 partially inactivated.) Syphilitic antibody will react with many types 

 of antigen, including those devoid of any relation to syphilis, being thus 

 nonspecific in contrast to true alexin fixation. It is regarded by some 

 authors as an entirely distinct phenomenon. 



According to Friedberger and Scimone (67), the antibody of syphilis 

 is destroyed by ultra-violet irradiation; but Brann (24) was unable to 

 detect any such effect. Both papers include experiments on normal 

 sera, which were not so altered by irradiation as to give any alexin fixa- 

 tion ("positive Wassermann reaction"). Hassko (76), using irradiation 

 even weaker than either of the above, reports that syphilitic antibody was 

 inactivated. It seems probable that this is true, and that Brann was 

 mistaken in claiming the contrary. Friedberger and Scimone (67) also 

 report both fractions, analogous to alexin M and E pieces, to be more 

 affected by irradiation than the controls. In another experiment they 

 destroyed by ultra-violet irradiation the normal ability of rabbit serum 

 to act like syphilitic antibody. 



Brann (24) also tried to inactivate syphilitic antibody by X- and 

 radium radiation : X-rays up to 13 erythema doses had no effect on either 

 positive or negative sera ("Metrorohr," voltage and amperage not 

 given, filtration through 3 mm. Al). Radium also had no effect, capsules 



