238 CHEMISTRY OF TllTJ IMMUMTY REACTIOXS 



forms, while with normal serum there occurs no precipitate.^*^ Little 

 is known concerning the nature of this reaction. 



Coagulation Reaction. — This was described by Hirschfeld and 

 Kling-er,^'^'' and depends on the fact that tissue extracts digested with 

 syphilitic serum lose tlieir ability to coagulate blood. The effect is 

 believed to depend on adsorption of the lipoids of the tissue extract by 

 serum constituents, and henee is fundamentally similar to the Wasser- 

 mann reaction. 



CYTOLYSIS IN GENERAL '' 



Not the same degree of success has been obtained in immunizing 

 against otlier tissue elements as with the erythrocytes. Immune 

 serum can readily be obtained against cells that can be secured quite 

 free from other cells, such as spermatozoa, ciliated epithelium, and 

 leucocytes, but even then the immunity is not specific. ]\luch less is 

 it specific when ground-up organs are used for innnunizing, as is the 

 case in the experimental production of iieplirolysins, hepatolysins, 

 etc., for at the same time antibodies are secured for not only the 

 typical parenchyma cells, but also for endothelium, stroma cells, red 

 and white corpuscles, and blood plasma. As a consequence, the early 

 expectations that by this process of immunization against specific cells 

 great progress could be made in our knowledge of physiology, by 

 selectively throwing out of function an organ through the simple 

 process of injecting an antiserum, have been disappointed. Equally 

 little progress has been made in the treatment of malignant growths 

 by the same method. The immune serums usually obtained do, to 

 a certain extent, injure the specific organ, but tliey also usually 

 injure other organs nearly as much or perhaps more ; furthermore they 

 generally contain hemolytic toxins, even if the tissues used in im- 

 munizing are free from blood, and, as we have seen, hemolytic poisons 

 may cause serious tissue destruction.^^ 



Beebe ^^ claims to have secured serums by immunizing with tissue 

 iiucleoproteins, that were altogether specifically toxic for the type of 

 cells from which the nucleoproteins were obtained; e. g., immunizing 

 with liver nucleoproteins .yielded serum destroying liver cells and 

 no others. Other observers have failed to corroborate this work.-" 

 According to Zinsser -^ the cytolytic antibodies may be quite distinct 



16 See Gammeltoft, Dent. mod. Wooh., 1912 (38), 10.34; Ellermaim, (7)/^/.. l!)i;i 

 (39), 210. 



loaDput. nied. Wooh., 1014 (40), 1007. 



1" Literature is given liv Fieisclimann and Davidsolin, Folia Serologiea. lOOS (1), 

 173; Landsteiner, Handinicli d. liioeliem., 1000 (II (1) ), 542; Riteliie, Jour. 

 Pathol, and Haet., 1008 (12), 140. 



18 See Sata, Zieplor's Beilr., 1906 (39), 1. 



10 Jour. Kx]). Med., 190ri (7), 733. 



20 Poarco and Jaekson, Jour. Infeet. Dis., lOOfi (3), 742. See also review l)v 

 Wells, Zeit. f. Imnuinitiit.. 1913 (10), 500. 



21 Hioeheni. Zeit., lOKi (77). 120. 



