COMPLEMENTOPHILE GROUPS OF THE AMBOCEPTORS. 231 



chored the dominant complement a. We shall probably not be wrong 

 if we assume that in this case, owing to the occupation of the com- 

 plementophile group for a, there is an increase in affinity of the com- 

 plementophile group for /?. The subject of hsemolysins contains 

 many analogies for such a behavior. Thus it is quite common that 

 not until the haptophore group of an amboceptor is bound to a cell 

 does the complementophile group of the same possess sufficient 

 affinity to anchor the complement. 



Such an arrangement, whereby a single amboceptor is able to 

 bind a number of different complements, is certainly not useless. 

 Owing to their zymotoxic groups the complements can manifestly 

 exercise quite different actions, so that the digestion of highly com- 

 plex food molecules in which, of course, we must see the physiological 

 function of the amboceptor mechanism is surely made easier. Such 

 an arrangement seems still more adapted to the purpose when we 

 consider that the cytophilic haptophore group of an amboceptor is 

 fitted, not to the entire food molecule as such, but only to a partial 

 group of the food molecule. The possibility is thus given for a par- 

 ticular amboceptor to anchor foodstuffs, which are .almost entirely 

 different but happen to agree in the possession of this one partial 

 group. Granted that this is the case, the presence of only a single 

 complement, acting only in one or the other possibility, would be 

 clysteleological, whereas a plurality of complements would insure the 

 greatest possible effect on the most varied foodstuff molecules. Re- 

 cent investigations have brought to light a great many examples 

 which show that in extracellular and intracellular digestive processes 

 various ferments act together or in sequence. Thus, as Hofmeister l 

 states, we already know of ten different ferments in the liver-cell: 

 "A maltase, a glycase, a proteolytic ferment, a nuclein-splitting 

 ferment, an aldehydase, a lactase, a ferment which converts the 

 firmly bound nitrogen of amido acids into ammonia, a fibrin ferment, 

 and, with some probability, a lipase and a rennin-like ferment." Even 

 in so simple an organism as the yeast-cell, according to Delbriick, 2 

 at least five endoferments are demonstrable. 



If one cares, one can regard an amboceptor whose various comple- 

 mentophile groups are occupied by different complements as a kind 



1 Hofmeister, Die chemische Organisation der Zelle. Vortrag. Braunschweig, 

 1901. 



2 Delbriick, Jahrbuch des Vereins der Spirit usfabrikanten, Vol. II, 1902. 



