On Thermostabile Bactericidal Substance Demonstrated in Human Serum, Particularly During Fever

[摘要] A thermostabile bactericidal substance has been demonstrated to occur in human serum, particularly during fever; its effect was particularly seen in tests with a strain of meningococcus highly susceptible to the bactericidal substances of serum. The thermostabile bactericidal substance was found besides in some few other cases, namely, in tests with two different strains of men-ingococci, with three strains of Pfeiffer bacilli and with almost the same frequency as with the highly susceptible meningococcus strain in tests with a strain of Diplococcus crassus .The thermostabile bactericidal substance is found to occur primarily in the serum of febrile patients; in tests with a highly susceptible meningococcus strain the thermostabile substance was demonstrable in 85 per cent of the febrile patients examined, one fourth showing a very marked action. The thermostabile substance could not be demonstrated in 90 per cent of the non-febrile patients.Injection of sulfosin seems to stimulate the organism to produce a thermostabile bactericidal substance.Increase of the bactericidal substances in active serum was found in tests against a diplococcus strain, a phenomenon which is probably elicited only under quite special conditions.The thermostabile bactericidal substance seems to keep well in vitro.The thermostabile bactericidal substance possesses an enzymic property, since it did not become fixed in absorption tests with the meningococcus strain which was killed by it.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）