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Pathology. — ''On the Amboceptors of an Anti-streptococcus .<ierum.'' 

 By H. Eysbroek. (From the Pathological Institute of Utrecht). 

 (Coinmuiiicated by Prof. C. H. H. Spronck.) 



(Communicated in the meeting of September 29, 1906). 



As is known, there exists in the serum of an animal which is 

 treated with the bloodcorpuscles of an animal of another species, a 

 substance, which is capable of bringing the bloodcorpuscles of the 

 second animal to solution with the aid of another substance, which 

 is already present in normal serum. The first substance, which only 

 appears in immune-sera, is thermostatic and is named differently by 

 different investigators, according to the idea which they make of its 

 influence (Amboceptor of Ehrlich, Substance sensibilisatrice of Bordet, 

 Fixateur of Metchnikoff). The other substance, which normally is 

 present in all sorts of sera in greater or smaller quantities, is easily 

 made inactive by heating to 55 — 56° C. or by being exposed to light. 

 It has been proved, that the last mentioned substance is identical with 

 a bactericidal substance, demonstrated by Fodor ^) and Flügge ^) in 

 normal blood-serum, to which is given the name of alexin by Buchner. 

 Next to this name at present the denominations complement (Ehrlich) 

 and cytase (Metchnikoff) are used. 



Had Metchnikoff in 1889 already pointed out the analogy between 

 hemolytic and bacteriolytic processes, later investigations have com- 

 pletely comfirmed this supposition. 



In 1901 Bordet and Gengou ^) published a method to demonstrate 

 the presence of a "substance sensibilisatrice" in the serum of an 

 animal, which was immunized against a certain micro-organism, by 

 means of a combination with the complement. At the same time 

 they found, that this amboceptor is specific; for instance, the ambo- 

 ceptor, present in the bloodserum of animals which were immunized 

 against cholera spirilla, is indeed active against the cholera spirilla, 

 but not against other bacteria, such as the typhoid bacilli. 



On the other hand one is capable of distinguishing with the aid 

 of an amboceptor at hand, the micro-organism belonging to it from 

 others, by means of a combination with the complement. 



Using the above mentioned method of Bordet — Gengou, Besredka"*) 

 succeeded in pointing out an amboceptor also in an anti-streptococcus 



') Deutsche Med. Wochenschrift, 1887, W. 3i, S. 745. 

 2) Zeitschrift fur Hygiene, Bd. IV, S. 208. 

 S) Annates de I'Inst. Pasteur, T. 15, 1901, p. 289. 

 *3 Annates de I'Inst. Pasteur, T. 18, 1904, p. 363. 



