106 ANAPHYLAXIS AND ANTI-ANAPHYLAXIS 



complement, the fluid obtained after an hour's con- 

 tact with the bacteria shews itself as deadly in intra- 

 venous injection as an anaphylotoxin prepared by 

 the ordinary procedure. 



In brief, neither the antibody, nor the antigen, nor 

 the complement, is indispensable to the production 

 of an anaphylotoxin. 



Have we, then, the right to maintain that the 

 anaphylactic poison, if such a thing exists, is repre- 

 sented by Friedberger's anaphylotoxin ? We have 

 still less authority for so doing, since, in our desire 

 to investigate the typhoid anaphylotoxin, we have 

 estabHshed some most curious facts. Thus, by 

 planting fresh serum on the surface of a sterile 

 peptone-agar slope culture, we have obtained, the 

 next day, a toxic fluid with characteristics absolutely 

 identical with those of the typhoid anaphylotoxin. 



In collaboration with Stroebel and Jupille, we 

 have seen that a preliminary injection of peptone 

 into the veins of a guinea-pig protects the animal 

 from the toxic effect of the typhoid anaphylotoxin.^ 

 The peptone protects in the same way from the 

 serous anaphylotoxin. Now when it is borne in 

 mind how rigidly specific anti-anaphylactic vaccina- 

 tion is, it is impossible not to conclude that allanaphy- 

 lotoxins can have little in common with anaphylaxis. 



More recently Bordet^ has obtained a toxic sub- 

 stance by mixing guinea-pig complement and a weak 

 emulsion of agar (0-5 gr. agar to 100 c.c. of physio- 

 logical saline solution). By studying this substance 

 closely, our coflaborator Tchernoroutzky^ found that 

 it was identical with that which we had previously 

 obtained with peptone agar slope tubes, and which we 

 referred to under the name of peptotoxin. 



1 Comptes rend. Soc. de Biol, Ixxi., pp. 413, 599. 691, 1911- 



2 Ihid., Ixxiv., p. 225, 1913. 



3 Ihid., Ixxiv., p. 1213, 1913. 



