244 INFECTION AND IMMUNITY 



by mixing inactivated hemolytic serum with its respective red blood 

 cells, then adding the antiserum and later complement. After cen- 

 trifugalization and separation of the corpuscles, these may be dissolved 

 by the addition of fresh complement. This proves conclusively that 

 there was no obstacle in the original mixture to the absorption of the 

 immune body by the red blood cells, and that the antihemolytic prop- 

 erties of the serum must be attributed to an anticomplement. This 

 was the method of experimentation employed by Ehrlich and Morgen- 

 roth. 1 Antiamboceptors have been produced by the same authors as 

 well as by Bordet 2 and Miiller, 3 against hemolytic amboceptors. 



Complementoids. Ehrlich and Morgenroth and Miiller have suc- 

 ceeded in producing anticomplements by the treatment of animals with 

 normal heated serum. They explain this by assuming that the heating 

 has not entirely destroyed the complement in the normal serum, but 

 that this, analogous to toxin, possesses two groups, a haptophore and a 

 zymophore group. Heating destroys the zymophore without affecting 

 the haptophore group. The resulting body, which corresponds to 

 toxoid, they call "complementoid." 



Further evidence for the existence of such complementoids has been 

 claimed by Ehrlich and Sachs 4 in working with dog serum. Unheated 

 dog serum hemolyzes guinea-pig corpuscles. Heated to 52 degrees C. 

 for thirty minutes, it no longer hemolyzes these corpuscles owing to 

 complement destruction. Such heated dog serum can be reactivated 

 by fresh guinea-pig serum (complement). If, however, the corpuscles 

 are left in contact with the heated dog blood for two hours, reactivation 

 by the guinea-pig serum no longer occurs that is, -the addition of guinea- 

 pig serum no longer causes hemolysis. They conclude from this that 

 the hemolytic amboceptor of the dog serum has been attached by its 

 complementophile group to complementoids produced in the heating 

 leaving no point of attachment for the complement added later. These 

 experiments have failed of confirmation by Gay 5 who with Bordet de- 

 nies the existence of complementoids. 



Muir, on the other hand, claims to have demonstrated the existence 

 of complementoids by experiments too complicated to be detailed in 

 this place. The question of complementoids must be left undecided until 

 further work has been done. 



1 Ehrlich und Morgenroth, loc. cit. 



2 Bordet, loc. cit. 3 P. Th. Miiller, Cent. f. Bakt., 1901. 



4 Ehrlich and Sachs, "Ehrlich Collected Studies on Immunity," trans. byBoldnau. 

 6 Gay, Cent. f. 'Bakt., I, xxxix, 1905. 



