130 TOXINES AND ANTITOXINES. 



so that the previously neutral serum became poisonous again. 

 This proves beyond doubt that what CALMKTTK had previously 

 shown to be the case with snake poisons also applies to bacterial 

 toxines viz., that the antitoxine does not effect any destruction 

 of the poison, but that there is a simple form of combination 

 which renders the toxine incapable of attaching itself by means 

 of its haptophore group to the cell and poisoning it. 



WASSKRMANN prepared his toxine by cultivating B. pyocyaneus 

 on beef bouillon containing 2 per cent, of peptone, and subse- 

 quently sterilising it by means of toluene. Further investigation 

 of the poison and its antitoxine are still required. In particular 

 an answer is still needed to the question whether the toxic 

 principle is identical with pyocyanolysine, with which we shall 

 deal presently, or whether the B. pyocyaneus, as is probably the 

 case, resembles the tetanus bacillus in producing two active 

 substances, a toxine and a lysine. 



It can be isolated by filtration through Chamberland filters. 

 Its toxicity cannot be compared, at all events as yet, with that 

 of tetanus toxine, for example. WASSERMANN found the lethal 

 dose for guinea-pigs to be 0*5 c.c. 



The quantitative ratios between pyocyaneus toxine and anti- 

 toxine show a very important peculiarity. 



In this case the law of multiples only holds good up to about 

 10 times the lethal dose. From that point upwards even great 

 doses of antitoxine no longer afford protection. 



Undoubtedly WASSERMANN is right in concluding from the 

 relatively slight toxicity of the poison, as well as from this 

 restricted formation of antitoxine, that pyocyaneus toxine con- 

 tains secondary poisons of non-haptoid nature derived from the 

 toxine, such as have hitherto only been obtained outside the 

 body in the case of cholera and typhus. In this respect, too, it 

 would seem that B. pyocyaneus occupies an intermediate position 

 between the diphtheria bacillus, which produces relatively stable 

 true toxines, and the bacteria of cholera and typhus. 



THE TOXINE OF SYMPTOMATIC ANTHRAX. 



A weak immunising poison which did not cause death, and 

 was only partially destroyed at 115 C., was obtained by Roux 1 

 by filtration of cultures and from flesh juices of infected animals. 



DUENSCHMANN 2 cultivated the bacilli of symptomatic anthrax 



1 Roux, "Immunite centre le charbon symptomatique," Ann. Past., ii., 

 49, 1888. 



2 Duenschmann, " Etude experim. sur le charbon symptomatique," 

 Ann. Past., viii., 403, 1894. 



