MECHANISM OF ANTIBODY FORMATION 89 



4. The Concept of Catalysis as Implied by the Above 

 Theories on the Mechanism of Antibody Formation 



The above discussed theories on the mechanism of antibody forma- 

 tion imply concepts which support the view presented in this treatise 

 that the antigens exercise the role of catalysts in the formation of 

 specific antibodies. The following statements concerning this question 

 are taken from the above discussed theories: "cells which synthesize 

 serum globulin possess species specific surfaces," and "antigens com- 

 bining with these surfaces produce . . . new antigen-cell complexes 

 directing the synthesis of antibody globulins" (Breinl and Haurowitz); 

 "antigen-protoplasm interface" serving as an orienting environment in 

 the synthesis of antibodies (Mudd); "the antigen molecule, after its 

 desertion by the newly-formed antibody molecule, may serve as the 

 pattern for another" (Pauling), which is a function of all catalysts; 

 "Macrophages render the antigen into suitable soluble form within the 

 vacuole and then as clasmatocytes incorporate it into the cytoplasm, 

 there in some way increasing the synthesis of normal globulin and the 

 modification of it into antibody globulin . . ." (Sabin); "antigen forms 

 within the (antibody forming) cells themselves, new specific catalysts 

 which are able to direct the formation of antibodies" (Alexander), are 

 concepts which support the thesis that the mechanism of immunization 

 is similar to the mechanism of surface catalysis in heterogeneous 

 systems. The similarity between the experimental facts serving as a 

 basis for the above views, and those to be encountered quite extensively 

 in chemical processes, where catalysis plays a determinant role, is 

 quite clear. 



We know that normal and immune serum globulins are synthesized 

 probably within reticulo-endothelial cells (Sabin). To account for the 

 specific reactivity of the antibody globulin it is necessary to assume the 

 formation of a new cell-antigen catalytic surface. Evidently the cell 

 as such is acting as an anchor or a catalytic support for antigen to 

 exercise its directive influence in modifying the synthesis of normal 

 globulin into antibody globulin. These modifications of surfaces within 

 cells may be pictured as analogous to the mechanism of heterogeneous 

 catalytic surfaces. They remind us of the well-known "mixed" or 

 "supported" catalysts, which represent mixtures of two or more sub- 



