100 TOXINES AND ANTITOXINES. 



any proteid reactions at all. The further development of this 

 question will be awaited with the greatest interest. The other 

 question as to which of the serum proteids the antitoxine is 

 combined with has been decided in favour of the globulins. 



BELFANTI and CARBONE x were the first to discover that the antitoxine 

 was carried down with the globulins when they were precipitated by means 

 of ammonium or magnesium sulphate, but not by acetic acid. The anti- 

 toxine was also found by SniRNOW 2 in the globulin precipitate thrown 

 down by magnesium sulphate. 



On the other hand, DIEUDONNE 3 found that the globulins which he had 

 precipitated by means of acetic acid and carbon dioxide were completely 

 nactive. On dialysis, the separated globulins exhibited but little pro- 

 tective power and that was mainly due to the filtrate. If, however, 

 magnesium sulphate were used for the precipitation the whole of the 

 antitoxine remained in the precipitate. A very similar result was ob- 

 tained in the case of the globulins of normal serum, which also had a 

 slight antitoxic power. 



Again, Hiss and ATKINSON,* and also ATKINSON, S found that the anti- 

 toxine could be quantitatively precipitated by magnesium sulphate, and 

 that the immune serum yielded a more copious precipitate than normal 

 serum. 



IDE and LEMAIRE 6 assert that the antitoxine is precipitated by saturating 

 its solution with ammonium sulphate to the extent of 28 to 44 per cent. 



These apparent contradictions as to the role of the globulins 

 have been satisfactorily explained by SENG. 7 He was able to 

 show (as was also done simultaneously by MARCUS 8 ) that there 

 were two kinds of globulins in the therapeutic serum viz., in- 

 soluble globulins, which could be precipitated by acetic acid, 

 carbon dioxide, dilution with water, and dialysis, and a second 

 category, the soluble globulins, which could only be precipitated 



1 Belfanti and Carbone, " Contributo alia Conoscenza dell'antitossina 

 difterica," Arch, per le Scienze Med., xxii., No. 2; abst. in Centralbl. f. 

 BaU., xxiii., 1898. 



2 Smirnow, "Note sur la de*termin. du pouvoir antitoxique du serum 

 antidiphthe'rique," Arch. d. Science Biolog. de St. Petersbourg, iv., No. 3, 

 1895. 



3 Dieudonne, " Ueb. Diphtheriegift neutralisier. Wirkg. der Serum- 

 globuline," Arb. a. d. Kaiserl. Ges.-Amt., xiii., 293, 1897. 



4 Hiss and Atkinson, " Serum globulin and Diphtheria Antitoxine," J. of 

 Exper. Med., v., 47, 1901. 



5 Atkinson, "The fractional precipitation of the globulins and albumins 

 of normal horse serum and diphtheric antitoxic serum," /. of Exper. Med., 

 v., 67, 1901. 



6 Ide and Lemaire, "Et. s. 1. repartition de 1'antitoxine diphth., &c.," 

 Arch. Internat. d. Pharmacodyn., vi., 477. 



7 Seng, " Ueb. d. qual. u. quant. Verhaltnisse d. Eiweisskorper im Diph- 

 therieheilserum," Ze.it. f. Hyg., xxxi., 513, 1899. 



8 Marcus, " Ueb. in Wasser losl. Serum globulin," Z. f. phys. Ch,, xxviii., 

 559, 1899. 



