IO LECTURES ON IMMUNITY 



constituents of toxins. Thus, for example, the haemolytic 

 poison tetanolysin that is produced by the Bacillus tetani 

 may be interfered with in its haemolytic power by choles- 

 terin. The researches of Madsen and Walbum seem to 

 prove that the compound of these two bodies is quite innoc- 

 uous, so that the cholesterin may be used as an antibody 

 against tetanolysin. Now it is not specific against tetanol- 

 ysin, as is the antitetanolysin, but it is effective also against 

 other lysins ; namely, saponin, cobralysin, cobralecithid, and 

 olive oil, but not against staphylolysin and arachnolysin. 1 



The lecithin, on the other hand, combines with the 

 poison of cobra, so that a haemolysin cobralecithid is formed, 

 that also in exceedingly minute quantities exerts an haemo- 

 lytic influence upon erythrocytes. The cobra-poison itself 

 displays such a property, but to a much less degree. 2 



These different bodies are often rather unstable, so that 

 they are spontaneously decomposed. This decomposition 

 proceeds much more rapidly at higher than at lower tem- 

 peratures. They are therefore in most cases conserved at 

 very low temperatures, sometimes in a frozen form. 



Ransom 3 has made a very interesting observation regard- 



1 Kyes and Sachs: Berl. klin. Wochenschrift, 1903, Nos. 2-4. 



2 Overton has expressed the opinion that the action of lecithin and of 

 cholesterin are associated to their lipoidal properties. With respect to 

 lecithin, it seems that this idea may be applied to much of the experimental 

 material. The lecithin seems, namely, to become dissolved in the membranes 

 of the cells (e.g. the erythrocytes) and thereby facilitates the passage of some 

 poisonous substances (e.g. mercuric chloride) into the cell or of haemoglobin 

 outwards through the cell membrane (cf. p. 158). The action of cholesterin 

 seems to be quite different, and of a neutralizing character (cf. Chap. VIII). 

 On the interesting investigations of Overton regarding the permeability of cellular 

 membranes cf. Rud. Hoeber : " Physikalische Chemie der Zelle und Gewebe," 

 2d ed., Leipzig, 1906, pp. 163-197. 



3 Deutsche med, Wochenschrift, 1901, No. 13. 



