On the Serological Relationship of Acid-Fast Bacteria

[摘要] Since the early unsuccessful experiments of Koch (1) to differentiate various acid-fast bacilli by means of agglutination tests, numerous investigators have failed in similar attempts, (Defalle (2), Courmont and Potet (3), Fritzsche (4), Twort, Todd and Perkins (5) and others). Search for distinguishing differences among the various acid-fast microörganisms by means of the complement fixation test has revealed a universally strong group reaction. For this reason Bordet (6), Gengou (7), Fritzsche (4), Harris and Lanford (8), Cooke (9), Twort, Todd and Perkins (5) and others found differentiation practically impossible. In fact, some of these investigations increased the prevailing confusion for they seemed to bring acid-fast bacteria into intimate antigenic relationship with otherwise unrelated microörganisms. For example, Fritzsche (4) extends Koch's observations and finds that Actinomyces resemble the acid-fast bacilli. Massol, Calmette (10) states, has demonstrated that diphtheria bacilli bind antibodies produced by the tubercle bacilli and inversely, tubercle bacilli fix antibodies produced by diphtheria bacilli.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）