142 TOXINES AND ANT1TOXTNES. 



while solution does not take place owing to the toxophore, group 

 remaining inactive. If the erythrocytes of rabbits' blood be 

 treated for some hours with staphylolysine at C., no solution 

 occurs ; but on carefully washing the erythrocytes, and warming 

 them to 37 C. solution, it immediately takes place. Perfectly 

 analogous conditions of combination and activity have been 

 observed by MORGENROTH (loc. cit.) in tetanus in the frog, and 

 by MADSEN in the case of tetanolysine. Staphylolysine is thus 

 closely allied to the true toxines. 



This analogy goes still further. Adopting Ehrlich's method of 

 determining the constitution of a toxine, NEISSER and WECHS- 

 BERG have treated a definite amount of toxine with increasing 

 fractions of the antitoxic unit, and have thus obtained " spectra," 

 which present many analogies with those of diphtheria toxine 

 and tetanolysine. There is no need to go more fully into these 

 details here. 



Hsemolysines are also produced by other bacteria, as has been 

 described e.g., by LUBENAU (loc. cit.), and KRAUS and CLAIRMONT 

 (loc. cit.). Agents with a solvent action upon the blood are 

 formed by cholera micro-organisms and other similar vibriones. 

 LEVY 1 isolated from typhus cultivations a lysine which acted 

 most upon dogs' blood. 



By means of immunisation with typhoid cultures he succeeded 

 in preparing an antilytic serum. Typhoid lysine also resists the 

 action of heat. A streptolysine that was fairly stable when 

 heated has been described by BESREDKA. 2 



It only occurs in young cultivations, and varies in its proper- 

 ties with the nature of the culture medium. It is only destroyed 

 after two hours' heating at 70 C., and is not dialysable. 



It does not form an anti-body under any condition, and thus 

 is apparently not a haptine at all. For this reason I give no 

 further particulars about it here. 



A hsemolysine isolated from cultures of the pneumococcus has 

 been described by CASAGRANDI. S It is characteristic of this that 

 only the non-pathogenic varieties of this diplococcus should form 

 a lysine. Its constitution is similar to that of the other toxines. 

 and it forms an anti-body. Certain species are also stated to 

 produce a specific leucocidine in addition to the lysine. 



1 E. and P. Levy, "Ueber die Hamolysine des Ty.-B.," Centralbl. f. 

 Bakt., xxx., 405, 1901. 



2 Besredka, " De 1'h^molysine streptococcique," Ann. Past., xv., 880, 

 1901. 



3 Casagrandi, " L'Emolisina e la Leucolisiua Diplococcica," Bull. Soc. 

 Lands. Rom., xxvii., 2; Biochem. Centralbl., i., 402, 1903. 



