BACTERIOLYSINS AND H&MOLYSINS 131 



Bordet maintains that complement does not 

 attach itself to the immune body and that it does 

 not act upon the cell unless the cell has first absorbed 

 the immune body. In attempting to substantiate 

 their views on complement deviation Ehrlich and 

 Sachs l observed the following phenomena, which 

 seemed to prove the existence of amboceptors and 

 of complement deviation. 



If fresh horse serum is added to guinea-pig cor- 

 puscles very slight haemolysis and agglutination of 

 the corpuscles take place. Inactive beef serum has 

 only a very slight agglutinative action and no haemo- 

 lytic action on guinea-pig corpuscles. If, however, 

 active horse serum and inactive bovine serum are 

 added to guinea-pig cells active haemolysis and 

 agglutination take place; the horse serum acting 

 as complement and the bovine serum as amboceptor. 

 The important point in this reaction is, that if the 

 bovine serum is added to guinea-pig corpuscles and 

 time allowed for absorption, it will be found after 

 removing the serum that the corpuscles have not 

 taken up any of the ambocepter. This is evidenced 

 by the fact that the corpuscles are not clumped 

 on the addition of horse complement and that the 

 bovine serum has retained all of its antibody. 

 Ehrlich, therefore, said, that the existence of a 

 complementophile group was demonstrated inas- 

 much as the bovine serum must combine with the 



1 Berl. Klin. Woch. No. 21, 1902. 



