370 CHYLE, LYMPH, TRANSUDATES AND EXUDATES. 



spleen constituent, and this nucleoprotein yields 25 per cent glutamic 

 acid on hydrolysis. Histone has not been directly detected in the spleen; 

 but its presence is to be admitted because KRASNOSSELSKY 1 was able 

 to isolate a histone-peptone as sulphate from the spleen. The ferruginous 

 albuminate has been considered as a spleen constituent for a long time, 

 and especially also a protein substance which does not coagulate on boil- 

 ing and which is precipitated by acetic acid and yields an ash contain- 

 ing much phosphoric acid and iron oxide. This substance is probably 

 identical with the nucleoproteins which later investigators such as SATO 

 and CAPEZZUOLI 2 have prepared from the spleen. These nucleoproteins, 

 which are modified products, contain iron in variable amounts and more 

 or less firmly combined. 



The pulp of the spleen, when fresh, has an alkaline reaction, but 

 quickly turns acid, due partly to the formation of free paralactic add 

 and partly perhaps to glycerophosphoric add. Besides these two acids 

 there are found in the spleen also volatile fatty adds, as formic, acetic, 

 and butyric acids, as well as sucdnic add, neutral fats, cholesterin, traces 

 of leudne, inosite (in ox-spleen), scyllite, a body related to inosite (in the 

 spleen of Plagiostoma), glycogen (in dog-spleen), uric add, purine bases, 

 and jecorin. LEVENE found a glucothionic add in the spleen, i.e., an 

 acid which is related to chondroitin-sulphuric acid but not identical 

 therewith, and which gives a beautiful violet coloration with orcin and 

 hydrochloric acid. The question whether this glucothionic acid originates 

 from the above-mentioned nucleoprotein or from the mucoid substance 

 has not been decided (LEVENE and MANDEL). In regard to the question 

 whether this acid is a unit body or not we refer to the w r ork of MANDEL 

 and NEUBERG and LEVENE and JACOBS. 3 



In the human and ox-spleen BuROW 4 has found three phosphatides 

 which all contain iron in organic combination. Among these one is a 

 saturated diaminomonophosphatide and the other two are unsaturated 

 phosphatides. 



Many enzymes are found in the spleen also, and certain of these 

 are of special interest. To these belong the uric-acid-forming enzyme, 

 the xanthine oxidase (BURIAN), which occurs in the spleen of many 

 animals, but not in man, and which transforms the oxypurines, 

 hypoxanthine, and xanthine into uric acid; also the deamidizing enzymes 



1 Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 49. 



2 Sato, Bioch. Zeitschr., 22; Capezzuoli; Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 60. 



3 Levene, Zeitschr. f. physiol. Chem., 37; Levene and Mandel, ibid., 45 and 47; 

 Mandel and Neuberg, Bioch. Zeitschr., 13; Levene, ibid., 16; Neuberg, ibid., 16; Levene 

 and Jacobs, Journ. of experim. Medic., 10. 



4 Bioch. Zeitschr., 25. 



