VENOM HEMOLYSIS AND VENOM AGGLUTINATION 173 



extracted with alcohol, and that of the substances extracted with alcohol 

 lecithin alone possessed the property of activating cobra venom in the same 

 manner as a heated serum. The haemolysis produced by the combined action 

 of cobra venom and lecithin differed from that caused by the combination of 

 cobra venom and certain suitable blood serum (complement) in the former's 

 rapid completion, and also its occurrence even at o° C. 



Kyes and Sachs went deeper into the search for the closer mechanism of 

 venom haemolysis produced by certain fresh serum on one hand and lecithin 

 on the other. In order to decide whether the venom-activating property of 

 the fresh serum of guinea-pigs is different from lecithin of that serum, they first 

 employed the fresh serum of guinea-pig to see if in small quantities unable 

 to activate the venom this serum still inhibits the venom-activating action of 

 lecithin. It was found that this serum exerts a powerful anti-lecithin action 

 in a dilution incapable of activating venom, showing that its anti-lecithin 

 component exceeds in amount the venom activator contained in it. In still 

 another experiment the serum of a rabbit immunized against guinea-pig 

 complement was employed. This serum became highly antilecithinic after 

 heating to 56° C. This lecithin-inhibitory property was saturated with the 

 addition of lecithin, and then its action upon the venom-activating property 

 of fresh serum of guinea-pig was tested. The result shows that this mixture 

 inhibited the latter's venom activation in a very small amount. A third 

 differentiation was made by digesting the fresh serum of guinea-pig with 

 papain, which destroyed the activating power of the former, although it had 

 no effect upon the venom-activating action of lecithin. A fourth differentia- 

 tion was found in the elective inhibitory action of cholesterin upon the activat- 

 ing property of lecithin, whereas venom-complement haemolysis is seen to 

 remain unaffected. 



Taking up once more the question of the nature of the corpuscular venom 

 activator — their original endocomplement — Kyes and Sachs next sought 

 the seat of the activator in the cells. They quickly found that the stroma is 

 activating, but not the soluble laked fluid of the red corpuscles. By alcoholic 

 extraction the activator was obtained in proteid-free state, and behaved in 

 the same manner as lecithin. Again, as to the activating property of the 

 washed stroma, they state that it corresponds with that of lecithin, as it is not 

 inactivated at 62 C, is quite active at o° C, but inhibited by cholesterin. 

 Thus, no endocomplement longer exists. 



The thermolability of the aqueous solution of disintegrated red corpuscles 

 was found to be due to the simultaneous presence of haemoglobin, which at 

 6 2 C. combines lecithin and renders it inactive in regard to venom haemoly- 

 sis. In a series of experiments they showed that lecithin combines with 

 haemoglobin when heated together in solution to 62 C. 



Kyes and Sachs proceeded further to ascertain the degree of susceptibility 

 of the blood corpuscles of different species of animals to cobra venom, either 

 with the addition of a sufficient amount of lecithin, or in their native state. 



