448 On Immunity loith Special Reference to Cell Life. 



of the organism against elements standing biologically much higher in 

 the scale than erythrocytes and much less foreign to the body than 

 those exceedingly lowly organisms, the bacteria. I refer here to the 

 production of " Antikorper" against cells of the higher animal organi- 

 sation, ^.(/., ciliated epithelium (v. Dungern), spermatozoa (Landsteiner, 

 MetchnikofF, Moxter), kidney cells, and leucocytes. These " Anti- 

 korper " are also of a complex nature. They obey the already de- 

 scribed law of elective absorption, and their origin is in keeping with 

 the " side-chain " theory. It is to be hoped that such immunisations 

 as these, which are of great theoretical interest, may also come to be 

 available for therapeutic application. The idea has already been 

 mooted by v. Dungern, of attacking epithelial new formations, particu- 

 larly carcinoma, by means of specific " antiepithelial sera," and 

 MetchnikofF has expressed the somewhat bold hope of being able to 

 delay old age by means of a serum directed against phagocytes 

 (macrophages). But even if in the immediate future no great practical 

 success is attained, we must remember that we are only at the very 

 beginning of a rational investigation of properties of cells which 

 hitherto have been far too lightly regarded. 



The sifting of the material obtained by observation is rendered more 

 difficult by the occurrence under normal conditions of a great number 

 of quite unlooked for bodies furnished with haptophore groups and 

 arising from diverse organs, and which we may designate collectively 

 as haptines. It is to be expected that the study of these haptines will 

 not only throw light on the more minute details of cellular metabolism, 

 but also prove fruitful in the fields of pathology and therapeutics. By 

 the fact that we can cause the individual haptines of the cells to pass 

 out into the blood serum by a process of specific immunisation, it 

 becomes possible in the test-tube to analyse more accurately the mode 

 of operation of their binding groups than is possible in the case of 

 the complicated conditions which present themselves in the animal 

 body. The importance, for the study of immunity, of considering the 

 circumstances from a purely cellular standpoint is evident from all that 

 I have said. 



I trust, my lords and gentlemen, that from what I have said you 

 may have obtained the impression, to allude again to my quotation 

 from Bacon, that we no longer find ourselves lost on a boundless sea, 

 but that we have already caught a distinct glimpse of the land which 

 we hope, nay, which we expect, will yield rich treasures for biology 

 and therapeutics. 



I desire to express my indebtedness to Dr. E. F. Bashford, McCosh 

 Scholar of the University of Edinburgh, now working with me in my 

 Institute, for his kindness in undertaking the translation of my lecture 

 into English, a task to which he has devoted much time and trouble. 



