18G Report 8.A.A. Advancement of Science. 



(c) Immune Substances. 



The natural reaction of an organism on introduction of colloidal 

 albuminoids into its circulatory system is the production of specific 

 anti- or immune-bodies. Against not organised proteid substances, the 

 following antibodies arise : — 



(1) Against toxines, as secreta of different mici-obes, the nnfi- 

 toxine.9 which neutralise the toxines (diphtheria anti-toxines, tetanus 

 anti-toxines). 



(2) Against serum or other albuminoids, and also against products 

 of the metabolism of the microbes, the precvpitines (Bordet, Nuttall) 

 (serum precipitines, bacteric-precipitines, coagulines against milk 

 (Bordet)) forming precipitations in solutions of the former proteid 

 substances. 



(.3) Against enzymes, anti-enzymes, with the peculiarity of inacti- 

 vating the specific action of enzymes (anti-pepsin, antichymosine, 

 antitrypsine). 



(i) Against the antibodies themselves antibodies are produced, 

 for instance, against hajmolysines or agglutinines (antisensibilisator 

 (Besredka), antialexine (Boi'det)). 



The immune substances with a specific action on cells are the 

 following : — 



(1) Microbes are destroyed by hactericidiuf.^, hacferiolysinei<, con- 

 glc)merated by the a(j<jlntinines. 



(2) The opsonines are anti-substances which prepare microbes for 

 phagocytosis. 



(3) Against blood cells, the lui'molyi^ines and lia'mariiihitininpa are 

 produced. 



(4) At least there is the possibility of obtaining a specific anti- 

 body, cytotoxine and cyfolyfiirie for ever)' cell of a mammalian organism 

 (neurotoxine, nephrolysine, myotoxine, hepatotoxine, spermatoxine). 

 The cytotoxines are complex, i.e. two, substances which act together 

 to produce the typical effect — -the i<eusihihisnfor or amboceptor and the 

 alexine or complement. 



All immune substances act specifically and arise independently of 

 each other in an animal. Thus, for instance, it is possible to obtain 

 antibodies for horse-sickness and piroplasmosis in the same horse, or 

 against rinderpest, redwater and gall-sickness in one bovine ; in other 

 words, an individium can be immune against several diseases. 



On the other hand, and by this specificity it is possible to isolate 

 in vitro, from a mixture of two or more immune substances in a serum, 

 one of tlieni by specific al>sorptit)n of the others. For instance, if at a 

 low temperature we mix serum ha-molytic foi' cattle and horse blood 

 with the erytlirocytes of the latter species, the serum, after being 

 separated from the cells, only dissohes cattle blood. 



Or, again, if a serum that has the peculiarity of agglutinating the 

 bacilli of glanders or typhus is added to suspensions of various un- 

 known bacilli, the phenomenon of agglutination indicates the respective 

 microbes. On the other hand, the positi\'e result of an agglutination 

 test in a culture of bacillus typhi by the seruni of a human being sus- 



