FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF KNOWLEDGE 175 



about a rapid hemolysis. This seemed to explain both why heated 

 serum could activate the venom in some cases, and why some varie- 

 ties of blood cells could be hemolyzed without serum, since lecithin 

 is a substance widely distributed both in the fluids and cells of the 

 animal body. His further studies seemed to show that, by proper 

 chemical manipulation (bringing together cobra poison with lecithin 

 in chloroform solution), he could produce a combination of the two 

 which he called "cobra lecithid," a substance which apparently "acti- 

 vated" cobra venom. He conceived it as the "amboceptor-comple- 

 ment" complex of the cobra hemolysin, which acted hemolytically 

 upon all varieties of blood cells. 



These researches of Kyes aroused much interest, chiefly because 

 they seemed to furnish an example of a chemically definable com- 

 plement, lipoidal in its constitution. Recent researches by Von 

 Dungern and Coca, 32 however, seem to prove that, while Kyes' ex- 

 perimental facts were perfectly accurate, his conclusions do not seem 

 to have been warranted. Von Dungern and Coca showed that the 

 cobra venom contains a lipoid-splitting ferment which acts upon the 

 lecithin, liberating substances from it which hemolyze in the same 

 way as do many other non-specific substances. The cobra-lecithid, 

 according to this, would represent merely a lecithin derivative which 

 happens to have hemolytic action without any specific -relationship to 

 the hemolytic properties of the venom itself. Thus, even in this case, 

 unfortunately, we are not in possession of facts which bring 'us 

 nearer to a chemical understanding of the complementary substances 

 or alexins. 



In the further development of attempts to define alexin or com- 

 plement chemically, two further researches are of importance, 

 namely, those of Von Liebermann 33 and of Noguchi. In both in- 

 vestigations it is suggested that the alexin may consist of a combina- 

 tion of soaps and proteins. Noguchi 34 showed that the hemolytic 

 organ-extracts described by various observers were soaps, a possi- 

 bility which had been previously considered by Sachs and Kyes. 35 

 Noguchi further established analogies between his soaps and com- 

 plement as follows: Sensitized blood cells are hemolyzed by mix- 

 tures of soaps and inactivated guinea pig serum, while normal ery- 

 throcytes are not hemolyzed by similar mixtures; furthermore, like 

 normal complement, such serum-soap mixtures are inactivated by 

 prolonged preservation and by heating at 56 C. Objections were 

 soon made to the findings of both Noguchi and Von Liebermann by 

 Hecker, 36 whose experiments seemed to show that when sensitize^ 



82 Von Dungern and Coca. Munch, med. Woch., 1907, p. 2317. 



33 Von Liebermann. Biochem. Zeitschr., Vol. 4, 1907. 



34 Noguchi. Biochem. Zeitschr., Vol. 6, 1907. 



35 Sachs and Kyes. Berl. kl. Woch., 2-4,. 1903. 



36 Hecker. Arb. auf dem konig. Inst. f. exp. Ther., Heft 3, 1907. 



