406 THE TECHNIC OF COMPLEMENT-FIXATION REACTIONS 



in frambesia and leprosy, investigators in this field anxiously awaited 

 the isolation of the Treponema pallidum in pure culture, believing that 

 if this result were secured it would be possible to work with a specific anti- 

 gen, determine the nature of the true syphilis antibody, and possibly 

 establish a complement-fixation test specific for syphilis. 



In 1909 Schereschewsky, using an antigen of an impure and non- 

 pathogenic culture of a spirochete regarded as the Treponema pallidum, 

 reported positive complement-fixation reactions with the majority of 

 serums tested. 



In 1912 Noguchi, having undoubtedly isolated the spirochete in 

 pure culture, prepared antigens and found that, whereas certain long- 

 standing or treated cases of syphilis yielded positive reactions with the 

 pallidum antigens, the reactions were uniformly negative when the 

 lipoidal extracts were used. In primary and secondary syphilis the 

 reactions with pallidum antigens were uniformly negative, whereas with 

 the lipoidal extracts they were uniformly positive. As a result of his 

 experiments Noguchi concluded that in syphilis there is produced a 

 true antibody that reacts specifically with pallidum antigen, in addition 

 to the lipodotropic "reagin," which reacts with lipoidal extracts, and 

 whereas the latter indicates activity of the infecting agent, the former 

 is a gage of the defensive activity of the infected host. 



Craig and Nichols, using alcoholic extracts of pure cultures in ascites 

 kidney agar of Treponema pallidum, Spirochete pertenuis, and Spiro- 

 chete microdentium, found similar positive reactions in all stages of 

 syphilis with the. three antigens, but the reactions were weaker and less 

 constant as compared with those obtained with a stock of lipoidal extract. 



Similar studies conducted by Kolmer, Williams, and Laubaugh with 

 aqueous and alcoholic extracts of pallidum cultures showed positive 

 reactions in secondary, tertiary, and congenital syphilis. The aqueous 

 extracts yielded better reactions than the alcoholic extracts; in practi- 

 cally all instances, however, the reactions were weaker than those ob- 

 tained with the ordinary lipoidal extracts. Control antigens of typhoid 

 and cholera bacilli and sterile culture mediums demonstrated that all 

 contained lipoidal substances that may give weak reactions with the 

 lipodophilic "reagin." This may explain Schereschewsky's positive 

 reactions with an antigen of a spirochete that in all probability was 

 Spirochete microdentium (Noguchi). 



The true nature of the Wassermann-Detre reaction, therefore^ cannot 

 be said to have been determined. It is probable that the ordinary 

 syphilis reaction is in itself not dependent upon a true antibody, and that 



