168 CHEMISTRY OF THE IMMUNITY REACTIONS 



entirely reasonable that a toxic glucoside can have antigenic proper- 

 ties. A similar line of reasoning will apply to the question of lipoid 

 antigens. 



The evident participation of lipoids ^- in innnunity reactions, es- 

 pecially the complement-fixation and allied reactions, has naturally 

 led to investigation of the possibility that lipoids may act as true 

 antigens, a possibility^ made conspicuous by the fact that lipoids can 

 be substituted for true antigens in the "Wassermann reaction (q. v.). 

 Bang and Forssmann immunized with ethereal extracts of red cor- 

 puscles and obtained hemolysins, so that they concluded that the 

 antigenic constituent of the corpuscles is a lipoid, probably a phos- 

 phatid. This Avork has caused much controversy and many workers 

 have failed to confirm their results.^^ It is a striking fact that when 

 purified phosphatids, from sources favorable for obtaining pure ma- 

 terials, are used, the results are always negative, while the positive 

 results are generally reported with lipoids of more or less dubious 

 purity. 



IMuch and others have worked with lipoids from a streptothrix, 

 which is called "nastin," and they state that sera are obtained 

 which give complement fixation reactions with nastin used as the 

 antigen.^* Similar results are described for the fatty materials from 

 tubercle bacilli ( ' ' tuberculonastin " ) . 



Meyers ^^ has reported the production of specific complement fix- 

 ation antibodies by immunizing rabbits with acetone-insoluble 

 lipoidal material obtained from tape worms and echinococcus. He 

 has found the acetone-insoluble fraction of tubercle bacilli, presum- 

 ably phosphatids, to serve as antigen in complement fixation reac- 

 tions with antibodies for tubercle bacilli,^*' and much more effectively 

 than the protein residue of the bacilli, wherefore he concludes 

 that the reactions obtained with the lipoids certainly cannot be 

 ascribed to adherent traces of protein. Bergel " observed after 

 lecithin injections in rabbits, not only an increase in the lipase con- 

 tent of the blood and tissues, but also the presence of complement- 

 binding antibodies, and -Tobling and Bull ^^ have found an increase in 

 -:erum li])ase after imiimnizing with red corpuscles. 



Bogomolez ^" suggests that the lipoids themselves may be produced 

 in excess for defense against various poisons, which they serve to 

 inhibit, especially the toxin of B. hotulinus. 



12 Bibliography on Lipoids and Immunity pivon by Landsteincr. KoUo and Was- 

 sormann's TTandbnoh, 101.3 (2), 1240; .Toblino;, Jour. Tmmnnol., 1010 (1). 401. 



13 Review of literature bv T.andsteiner. Jaliresb. Imnninitiitsfrscli.. 1010 (fi),. 

 200. 



14 Literature in Beitr. Klinik d. Tuberlc, 1011 f20). 341. 

 isZeit. Immunitiit., 1010 (7), 7.32; 1011 (9), 530; 1012 (14), 355. 

 if> Ihid., 1012 (14), 350; 1012 (15). 245. 



i7Deut. Areh. klin. Med.. 1012 (106), 47. 



15 Jour. Kxp. Med., 1012 (10), 4S3. 

 i«Zeit. Immunitiit., 1010 (S), 35. 



