272 



INFECTION AND IMMUNITY. 



Danger of 



Formation 



of Antiain- 



boceptor. 



Deviation 

 of Comple- 

 ment and 

 its Theoret- 

 ical Dan- 

 ger. 



plementophilous haptophore in one case. Pfeiffer 

 also reports the demonstration of antiamboceptors 

 for the specific amboceptors of anticholera serum. 

 The possibility of antiamboceptor formation is one 

 of practical bearing, in view of the fact that the 

 prolonged treatment of a patient with a bacteri- 

 cidal semm may result in the development of such 

 antibodies. If present in sufficient amount they 

 would combine with new amboceptors which were 

 injected and thus deviate the latter from the bac- 

 teria. 



A phenomenon equally of theoretical and prac- 

 tical importance has to do with the so-called devia- 

 tion (Allenkung) of complement. It has been 

 found that the action of a bactericidal or hemolytic 



Fi g> 9. illustrating deviation of complement. The free 

 amboceptors have combined with the available complement, 

 and thereby prevented the latter from activating the am- 

 boceptors which have united with the bacterial cell. (From 

 Neisser and Wechsberg.) 



serum is lessened, if a great excess of amboceptors 

 over complement is added. To explain this fact 

 ISTeisser and Wechsberg have supposed that when 

 so many amboceptors are present that all can not 

 be taken up by the cells, those which remain free 

 are able to combine with some of the complement 

 which is present and thus prevent the accession of 

 the latter to the sensitized cells ; that is to say, the 

 complement is diverted from its natural direction 

 of activity (Fig. 9). This amounts to a protec- 



