<'()Mri.i:\n:\T fixation and wassermann ke action 235 



reiuuved by licatiiiy, no liemolysis will occur, i'or we have added no 

 free complement. But if our original mixture had contained dysen- 

 tery hacilli instead of tyi)lioid bacilli the complement would not have 

 been fixed, and the addition of this mixture, containing free comple- 

 ment, to the sensitized sheej) eoi'puseles would cause prompt hemol- 

 ysis. 



This reaction was at first used for the detection of antibodies in 

 sera,''* and for the identification of bacteria, and was found to be ex- 

 (iuisitely delicate, detecting most minute amounts of antigens with 

 the sharpest specificity limits of any of the immunity reactions. On 

 account of the delicacy of this reaction it can be used to determine 

 the presence in tissues of specific organisms which cannot be culti- 

 vated ; thus, it has been possible to demonstrate the existence of a 

 specific scarlatinal virus "" in the tissues during this disease, although 

 the actual organism cannot be isolated. This fact led Wasser-inann 

 to use extracts of the livers of congenital syphilitic fetuses, which 

 contain great quantities of spirochetes, as an antigen for complement 

 fixation reactions, whereby it should be possible to determine in a 

 given serum the presence of specific amboceptors for the virus of 

 syphilis, such amboceptors being present in persons infected with 

 syphilis as a result of the reaction to the infection. As originally in- 

 troduced, then, the Wassermann reaction was supposed to be simply 

 a specific reaction between syphilitic antigen, specific syphilitic am- 

 boceptors, and non-specific complement. It was soon learned, how- 

 ever, that the reaction as it occurred in syphilis was decidedly dif- 

 ferent from the original complement fixation reaction of Bordet and 

 Gengou, for it was found possible to substitute in the reaction for 

 extracts of tissues containing syphilitic virus (spirochetes), the most 

 varied sorts of tissue extracts, coming from tissues certainly free 

 from spirochetes (e. g., ox heart). Noguchi and Bronfenbrenner ^ 

 summarize the i)resent state of the matter in these words: "We 

 know merely this : that complement in the presence of syphilitic anti- 

 gen may be rendered inactive by one or more substances in the body 

 fluids of a syphilitic or parasyphilitic patient." 



Extended investigation of these non-specific antigens whicli give 

 specific complement fixation with syphilitic sera, has shown them to 

 be related to the lipoids, especiallj" the lecithins, as indicated by the 

 fact that the most efficient antigens contain the aceton-insoluble frac- 

 tion of the tissue lipoids. The antigenic value of this fraction of 



3S Accordinfi to Gay (I^niv. of Calif. Publ., rathol., mil (2), ], full dispus- 

 s-on) complement fixation is jirodueod by an antioen-antihody complex' distinct 

 from precipitino<;en-j)reci[)itin, l)ut Dean (Zeit. f. Tmnuinitiit., 1012 (1.31, S4) be- 

 lieves that they represent two phases or stages of tlie same reaction. Thiele and 

 Embleton (Zeit. Tmmnnitiit., I!tl3 (10), 4.10) consider tliat in sypliilis it is not 

 a specific antibody, but an anti-complementary sul)stance wliicli arises from the 

 disintefjrating tissues. 



on Koessler and Koessler, .Tour. Tnfec. Dis., 1012 (!)). .30(1. 



iJour. E.\-p. Med., 1911 (13), 43. 



