240 CHEMISTRY OF THE JMMUMTV BE ACTIONS 



marked desquamation of endothelium when the injection was made 

 into a serous cavity. In snake-venom poisoning the extensive hemor- 

 rhages are also due to an endotheliolytie principle, called by Flexner 

 hemon^hagin. 



Lymphatolytic Serum. — This serum has been studied by Ricketts 

 and by Flexner, who immunized animals with lymph-glands. As 

 might be expected from the structure of the injected glands, the re- 

 sulting serum contained endotheliotoxin, leucocytotoxin, hemolysin, 

 hemagglutinin, leucocyto-agglutinin, and precipitins. When injected 

 into animals, this serum has a marked effect upon the spleen and 

 lymph-glands, producing great enlargement and congestion of these 

 structures. The bone-marrow is also somewhat affected, and when 

 marrow is used in immunizing, the mj/eloto.ric serum produces marked 

 proliferative changes in the lymph-glands as well as in the marrow. 



Nephrolytic Serum. — It has been claimed that if a kidney is de- 

 stroyed by ligating its vessels or ureter, the remaining kidney de- 

 velops serious degenerative changes, which are not present if one kid- 

 ney is entirely removed. This has been attributed to Ihe development 

 of nephrotoxic substances produced in reaction to the absorption of 

 the injured renal tissue that has been left in the body. Other methods 

 of renal injury have been thought to produce similar effects, and 

 serum of animals with kidney disease was said to injure the kidneys 

 of normal animals. Upon this basis it has been thought possible to 

 explain the progressive nature of the chronic nephritides as the result 

 of nephrotoxins produced through the absorption of the injured cells, 

 wiiich nephrotoxins injure still other renal cells.-* Such a process, 

 however, involves the production of cell toxins in an animal that are 

 toxic for its own cells, that is, autocytotoxins ; and as it has so far 

 been practically impossible to produce autolysins of other sorts, it is 

 not altogether probable that the kidney is an exception. Further- 

 more, Pearce -' was unable to produce isonephrotoxins, and could not 

 corroborate the statements as to the changes said to have been found 

 in the remaining kidney after ligating the vessels of its mate. He 

 did obtain an active heteronephrolysin, but also found that immuni- 

 zation with liver produced nearly as actively nephrolytic serum as 

 did innnunization with kidney. 



Neurolytic Serum. — Even as highly s])ecialized cells as those of 

 the nervous tissue seem to produce a reaction with the formation of 

 iimnnne bodies. Perhaps the most positive results are those of 

 Ricketts and Rothstein,-'' who found that serum of rabbits immunized 

 against the brains or cords of guinea-pigs was highly toxic when in- 

 jected into the vessels of guinea-pigs, causing death with various 

 symptoms only explainable on the assumption of nervous lesions. 



24 See Kajjscnbci-'r. Zcit. Tiiiimiiiitiit.. 1012 (12). 477. 

 23 Univ. of Ponn. Mod. V.uW.. inn.3 (16). 217. 

 2« Trans. Chicago Patli. Soc. 100.3 (5), 207. 



