PROTEIN FEVER 



415 



antigen are the cause of the reaction, cleavage going on 

 continually locally at the tuberculous foci, and the addition 

 of a little more cleavage body producing a cumulative 

 effect, and in the intestine where cleavage is also going 

 on in the cells during digestion, the same occurs whether 

 the reacting dose is from simple or bacterial protein." 



These investigators agree with us that it is the same 

 substance which in larger doses causes a fall in temperature, 

 and in small doses a rise. They say: "(1) In sensitized 

 animals, owing to the presence of a specific enzyme, the 

 homologous antigen undergoes more rapid degradation 

 than in non-sensitized ones, and consequently certain 

 degradation products are liberated in sufficient quantities 

 from relatively small amounts of the antigen to cause 

 temperature depression in these animals, and from still 

 further amounts to cause fever. (2) The pyrogenic bodies 

 are not a further stage in the degradation of the antigen, but 

 the same degradation body or bodies cause depression or ele- 

 vation according to the amounts present at any given time." 



The relative effects of egg-white and tubercle protein on 

 fresh and sensitized animals are shown by Thiele and 

 Embleton as follows: 



Limits of 



Temperature fall . 

 Constant temperature 

 Temperature rise . 



Limits of 



Temperature fall . 

 Constant temperature 

 Temperature rise . 



EGG-WHITE 



Normal animal, 



grams. 

 . 0.05 

 . 0.02 

 . 0.01 to 0.001 



TUBERCLE EMULSION 



Normal animal, 



grams. 



. 0.005 to 0.002 

 . 0.002 to 0.001 



0.001 to 0.00001 



Sensitized, 



grams. 

 0.005 



0.0002 to 0.0001 

 0.0001 to 0.000002 



Sensitized, 



grams. 

 0.0005 

 0.0001 

 0.00001 to 0.000001 



In another interesting way these investigators confirm 

 some of our earliest work (Chapter III) when they say: 

 "The more finely divided the bacterial protoplasm is, the 

 more rapid are the temperature effects and the more toxic 

 is the bacillary substance." 



