Serum-Globulin and Diphtheric Antitoxin: A Comparative Study of the Amount of Globulin in Normal and Antitoxic Sera, and the Relation of the Globulins to the Antitoxic Bodies.
Abstract: THE RESULTS OF THE FOREGOING EXPERIMENTS MAY BE BRIEFLY SUMMARIZED AS FOLLOWS: The amount of antitoxic substance obtained by precipitation with magnesium sulphate from the blood-serum of the horse corresponds, as nearly as can be determined by the use of test guinea-pigs, in full to the protective power of the serum from which it is obtained, i. e. the precipitate from 1 cc. of serum will protect against the same amount of toxin as 1 cc. of the serum itself. Equal amounts of the precipitates by magnesium sulphate from immunized and non-immunized horses act differently toward toxin; i. e. the proportion of protective substance to the precipitate from non-immunized serum is exceedingly small as compared with the proportion of antitoxin to the precipitate from sera of immunized horses. The average precipitate from the sera of immunized horses, as obtained by magnesium sulphate, is more abundant than the average precipitate from sera of non-immunized horses. In the case of the same animal before and after immunization, the serum before immunization gives a less abundant precipitate with magnesium sulphate than the serum tested after immunization. The proportion of increase per unit of antitoxic strength for the same or different horses is not constant. This may be due to an increase of inactive substances (in their relation to diphtheric toxin) or to imperfect methods of determination. The precipitates obtained by magnesium sulphate give all the reactions recognized as characteristic of globulins, and as distinguishing them from other albuminous bodies. We are not warranted, then, in the present state of our knowledge, in considering any part of these precipitates as other than globulin. But it does seem warrantable to conclude, from the fact that the globulins of normal serum do not protect, or only in comparatively large amounts, against diphtheric toxin, that new globulins are formed, or rather greatly increased in the serum of immunized horses, and that these globulins protect against the toxin. These increased globulins and the inert globulins (which from obvious causes are a very variable factor) are both precipitated by magnesium sulphate. Every animal has a physiological and pathological history more or less widely diverging from the normal, hence absolute conformity in the results obtained is not to be expected, at least with our present methods of differentiation.
Publication Date: 1900-10-01 PubMed ID: 19866935PubMed Central: PMC2117993DOI: 10.1084/jem.5.1.47Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research explores the relationship between the concentration of globulin proteins in normal and antitoxic sera from horses, with a specific focus on the antibodies generated when the horses are immunized against diphtheria. It primarily determines the effects these immunized globulins have on neutralizing the diphtheric toxin.
Study Overview and Main Findings
- The researchers found that the quantity of globulin precipitated from the blood serum of horses with the help of magnesium sulphate corresponds to the serum’s protective potency against diphtheria toxin. This was confirmed using guinea pigs in a laboratory setting.
- The study discovered that the proportion of protective substances found in the precipitate from non-immunized horse serum was much smaller when compared to the antitoxin quantities in the precipitate derived from immunized horse serum.
- Furthermore, on average, the precipitate from immunized horse serum was more substantial in quantity than that obtained from non-immunized horse serum. In other words, immunization increases the quantity of globulins, and consequently, the amount of precipitate obtainable.
- This was further substantiated by comparing the yields of globulin precipitates of the same horse’s serum before and after immunization, with the latter yielding more precipitate.
- The study notes that the increase in antitoxic potency per unit is not constant across different or even the same horses. This was attributed to the presence of inactive substances or limitations in the methods of determination.
- All the precipitates demonstrated typical reactions of globulins, confirming their identity as such.
Conclusions and Implications
- The findings present a strong case for the formation or reformation of additional globulins in the serum of horses when immunized against diphtheria, which can protect against the toxin.
- However, the team acknowledges that due to each animal’s unique physiological and pathological history, their serum properties and responses to immunization will vary, leading to non-uniform results.
- In conclusion, the study points towards the protective role of globulins in immunized horses against diphtheric toxin and highly recommends more exhaustive studies for a better understanding of these proteins in immune response.
Cite This Article
APA
Hiss PH, Atkinson JP.
(1900).
Serum-Globulin and Diphtheric Antitoxin: A Comparative Study of the Amount of Globulin in Normal and Antitoxic Sera, and the Relation of the Globulins to the Antitoxic Bodies.
J Exp Med, 5(1), 47-66.
https://doi.org/10.1084/jem.5.1.47 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Instructor in Bacteriology, College of Physicians and Suryeons, Columbia University.
References
This article includes 2 references
- Bolton BM. DIPHTHERIA ANTITOXIN SOMETIMES FOUND IN THE BLOOD OF HORSES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN INJECTED WITH TOXIN.. J Exp Med 1896 Jul 1;1(3):543-5.
- Park WH, Atkinson JP. THE RELATION OF THE TOXICITY OF DIPHTHERIA TOXIN TO ITS NEUTRALIZING VALUE UPON ANTITOXIN AT DIFFERENT STAGES IN THE GROWTH OF CULTURE.. J Exp Med 1898 Jul 1;3(4-5):513-32.
Citations
This article has been cited 1 times.- She X, Zhao X, Yang H, Cui X. Nonlinear Association Between Calculated Globulin Levels and 28-Day Mortality in Patients with Sepsis: A Retrospective Cohort Study. Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2025;18:2743-2757.
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