LYSINS, AGGLUTININS, PRECIPITINS, ETC. 243 



antiserum and later complement. After centrifugalization and sepa- 

 ration of the corpuscles, these may be dissolved by the addition of 

 fresh complement. This proves conclusively that there was no obstacle 

 in the original mixture to the absorption of the immune body by the 

 red blood cells, and that the antihemolytie properties of the serum 

 must be attributed to an anticomplement. This was the method of 

 experimentation employed by Ehrlich aijd Morgenroth.' Antiambocep- 

 tors have been produced by the same authors as well as by Bordet ^ and 

 Miiller,^ against hemolytic amboceptors. 



Complementoids. — Ehrlich and Morgenroth and Miiller have suc- 

 ceeded in producing anticomplements by the treatment of animals with 

 normal heated serum. They explain this by assuming that the heating 

 has not entirely destroyed the complement in the normal serum, but that 

 this, analogous to toxin, possesses two groups, a haptophore and a zymo- 

 phore group. Heating destroys the zymophore without affecting the 

 haptophore group. The resulting body, which corresponds to toxoid, 

 they call "complementoid." 



Further evidence for the existence of such complementoids has been 

 claimed by Ehrlich and Sachs * in working with dog serum. Unheated 

 dog serum hemolyzes guinea-pig corpuscles. Heated to 52° C. for 

 thirty minutes, however, it no longer hemolyzes these corpuscles ow- 

 ing to complement destruction. Such heated dog serum can be reacti- 

 vated by fresh guinea-pig serum (fresh complement) . If, however, the 

 corpuscles are left in contact with the heated dog blood for two hours, 

 reactivation by the guinea-pig serum no longer occurs — that is, the ad- 

 dition of guinea-pig serum no longer causes hemolysis. They conclude 

 from this that the hemolytic amboceptor of the dog serum has been 

 attached by its complementophile group to complementoids produced 

 in the heating — leaving no point of attachment for the complement added 

 later. These experiments have failed of confirmation by Gay ^ — who 

 with Boidet denies the existence of complementoids. 



Muir, on the other hand, claims to have demonstrated the existence 

 of complementoids by experiments too complicated to be detailed in 

 this place. The question of complementoids must be left undecided until 

 further work has been done. 



1 Ehrlich und Morgenroth, loc. cit. 



' Bordet, loc. cit. 



'P. Th. Mailer, Cent. f. Bakt., 1901. 



* Ehrlich and Sachs, ' Ehrlich Collected Studies on Immunity," trans, by Boldnau. 



5 Gay, Cent. f. Bakt., I, xxxix, 1906. 



