BACTERIAL ANAPHYLAXIS 415 



other work 10 on protein split products, not a mere liberation of pre- 

 formed poisons, but a chemical (enzymotic) proteolysis by which a 

 poisonous group of the bacterial protein-molecule is set free. 



The essential difference of this point of view from the endotoxin 

 theory at first sight seems a trivial one in the one case liberation of 

 a preformed poison molecule in the other liberation of a poison by 

 the breaking up of a molecule. The difference, however, is a funda- 

 mental one. For, in the earlier theory, the specific element of the 

 toxemia was in the nature of the different poisons whereas in the 

 view of Vaughan the lysin which breaks up the protein molecule is 

 alone the specific element, the formed poisons being concerned as 

 non-specific and alike, whether produced from colon bacilli, tubercle 

 bacilli, or egg white. 



Friedberger, 1 1 finally, in 1910, repeating with bacteria his ex- 

 periments upon "anaphylatoxin" liberation from specific precipitates, 

 succeeded in obtaining such poisons in the test tube by allowing 

 fresh guinea pig complement to act upon sensitized bacteria. 



These results were confirmed by extensive experiments carried 

 out soon after this by Friedberger 12 himself with a number of 

 collaborators. 



The results of these investigations may be summarized as follows : 



1. The action of alexin upon sensitized or unsensitized bacteria 

 yields toxic substances which, injected into normal guinea pigs, 

 produce the characteristic symptoms of anaphylaxis, with frequent 

 death and typical autopsy findings. 



2. These poisons ("anaphylatoxins") may be produced from 

 any variety of bacteria, pathogenic and non-pathogenic. 13 (The or- 

 ganisms used in the earlier experiments were Vibrio metchnikovi, 

 the bacillus of tuberculosis, the typhoid, prodigiosus, and subtilis 

 bacillus, and Aspergillus fumigatus.) 



3. The successful production of the poisons depends intimately 

 upon the relative amounts of antigen (bacteria) and alexin used, and 

 upon the time and temperature conditions under which the ex- 

 posures are made. 



10 Vaughan. Zeitschr. f. Immunitatsforsch., Vol. 1, 1909. 



11 Friedberger. Berl. klin. Woch., Nos. 32 and 42, 1910. 



12 Friedberger ; Friedberger and Goldschmid ; Friedberger and Szymanow- 

 ski; Friedberger and Schiitze; Friedberger and Nathan. Zeitschr. f. Im- 

 munitatsforsch., Vol. 9, 1911. 



13 Neufeld and Dold, comparing virulent and avirulent strains of pneu- 

 mococcus in this regard, have found that the virulence of the race has no 

 relation to its yield of anaphylatoxin. Indeed the anaphylatoxins from va- 

 rious bacteria seem to be qualitatively entirely alike. 



NOTE. We wish to note here that we are giving Friedberger's theories and 

 experiments at some length because they have had considerable influence on 

 our conceptions of infection. We do not wish to create the impression that we 

 accept them, however, and will discuss their fallacies later in the same chapter. 



