CYTOLYSIS IN GENERAL 203 



Much less is it specific when ground-up organs are used for 

 immunizing, as is the case in the experimental production of 

 nephrolysins, hepatolysins, etc., for at the same time antibodies 

 are secured for not only the typical parenchyma cells, but also 

 for endothelium, stroma cells, red and white corpuscles, and 

 blood plasma. As a consequence, the early expectations that 

 by this process of immunization against specific cells great 

 progress could be made in our knowledge of physiology, by 

 selectively throwing .out of function an organ through the 

 simple process of injecting an antiserum, have been disappointed. 

 Equally little progress has been made in the treatment of 

 malignant growths by the same method. The immune serums 

 usually obtained do, to a certain extent, injure the specific organ, 

 but they also usually injure other organs nearly as much or 

 perhaps more ; furthermore they generally contain hemolytic 

 toxins, even if the tissues used in immunizing are free from 

 blood, and, as we have seen, hemolytic poisons may cause 

 serious tissue destruction. 1 



Beebe 2 has introduced a method of immunization that may 

 yield better results. On the assumption that the nucleoproteids 

 are the most characteristic constituent of the cells, he isolated 

 them from different organs, and claims to have secured serums 

 by immunizing with these nucleoproteids that were altogether 

 specifically toxic for the type of cells from which the nucleo- 

 proteids were obtained ; e. g. y immunizing with liver nucleo- 

 proteids yielded serum destroying liver cells and no others. 



In view of the present uncertain state of the subject, and 

 the very questionable value of much of the work so far done, 

 the consideration of the various cytolysins or cytotoxins may 

 be dismissed by briefly referring to a few of the most important 

 results. 



I/eucocytolytic Serum. 3 This may be obtained either 

 by immunizing with leucocytes obtained from exudates or from 

 the blood, or by using emulsions of lymph-glands. Specific leu- 

 cocytolytic serum agglutinates leucocytes and produces observ- 

 able morphologic changes, in the way of solution of the cyto- 

 plasm and cessation of ameboid movements. Of the leucocytes, 

 the large granular cells seem most affected and the lymphocytes 

 least. When injected into the peritoneal cavity such serum 

 causes an apparent initial leucopenia, and later a decided 



1 See Sata, Ziegler's Beitr., 1906 (39), 1. 



2 Jour. Exp. Med., 1905 (7), 733. 



3 Literature, see Flexner, Univ. of Penn. Med. Bull., 1902 (15), 287; Kicketts, 

 Trans. Chicago Path. Soc., 1902 (5), 178 ; Christian, Deut. Arch. klin. Med., 

 1904 (80), 333. 



