Leiicotoxins and Sjjennotoxins 23 



of rat spleen into the giiine.a-pig. After 47 days the treated animal's serum was 

 found to agglutinate and dissolve rat leucocytes suspended in rat's abdominal 

 lymph. The mononuclears were first attacked, then the polynuclears, and finally 

 the iMastzellen of Ehrlich. He also obtained leucotoxin by injecting an emulsion of 

 rabbits' mesenteric glands into guinea-pigs. Although these glands only contained 

 mononuclears, the serum was destructive both to rabbit mononuclears and polynu- 

 clears. The leucotoxins were markedly specific, that for the rat scarcely afifected 

 mouse leucocytes, that for the rabbit had no effect on rat leucocytes and vice versd. 

 Funck (26, v. 1900), and Besredka (vi. 1900, p. 391) have experimented also upon 

 these lines, the latter preparing leucotoxins for diflerent animals (horse, ox, sheep, 

 goat, dog) by injecting their lymph glands into other animals. He found that none of 

 the leucotoxins affected human leucocytes, but this was an exception, for ox leuco- 

 toxin, obtained from the guinea-pig, was leucotoxic for rabbits ; and human leuco- 

 toxin was leucotoxic for guinea-pigs. Besredka found leucotoxic sera less stable than 

 haemolytic sera, and no leucotoxin was formed when lymph glands heated to 55° C. 

 were injected. As with other toxins, the leucotoxins, when injected into animals, 

 l>roduce illness and death ; he found for instance (p. 393) that an intraperitoneal 

 injection of 3 c.c. of leucotoxic serum for the guinea-pig, obtained from a rabbit, 

 killed a guinea-pig in 3—4 hours. Besredka (p. 397) obtained anti-leucotoxin in the 

 serum of guinea-pigs treated with guinea-pig leucotoxin (from rabbit), the antibody 

 preventing leucolysis when mixed with leucolytic serum. 



In their studies on snake venom, Flexner and Noguchi (1902) found the venoms 

 to dissolve and agglutinate rabbit's leucocytes. Whereas the agglutinating principle 

 seemed to be identical for both leucocytes and red corpuscles, the lysin for each was 

 distinct. Venomized leucocytes required a complement for their destruction just 

 as do the red blood corpuscles. The different varieties of leucocytes were found 

 to react differently to venom. 



The presence of leucotoxins in fresh normal dog serum was already observed 

 by Buchner (1893, p. 120), who stated that the fresh serum killed but did not 

 dissolve the leucocytes of man and rabbit. When dog serum was heated to 55° C. 

 it was no longer leucotoxic. 



The spermotoxiits discovered by Landsteiner (29, iv. 1899, p. 549) have proved 

 of considerable interest. He obtained speruiotoxin by injecting ox spermatozoa 

 into guinea-pigs. Whereas ox spermatozoa introduced into the peritoneum of the 

 normal guinea-pig remained motile for a considerable time, those introduced into 

 the peritoneum of a guinea-pig which had received several injections of spermatozoa 

 were immobilized very quickly. This was confirmed by Metchnikoff (x. 1899, 

 p. 739) who injected ox and human spermatozoa into guinea-pigs. Whereas the 

 spermatozoa remained alive for 30 hours in normal guinea-pig's serum, they were 

 immobilized in a few minutes in that of a treated guinea-pig. The antiserum only 

 immobilized the spermatozoa, it did not dissolve them. Moxter (25, i. 1900) found 

 that spermotoxic serum for the sheep also haemolysed sheep's blood corpuscles, 

 and that the immune-body combined with sheep spermatozoa. He denied the 

 specificity of spermotoxin, considering, however, that it did possess a special affinity 

 for spermatozoa. The blood cells appeared to him to be more susceptible to 

 a variety of antibodies than are the other cells. Metchnikoff (vii. 1900, p. 373) 

 considers that the haemolytic action of Moxter's spermotoxin may have been due 



