Abstract
Certain sera from individuals receiving large doses of penicillin have been found to contain a factor which can cause agglutination of human red cells sensitized with penicillin. Such sera were detected by a preliminary white tile screening technique and subsequently titrated in tubes.
The haemagglutinating factor appeared to be heat stable (56.0° for 6 hours at least) and active over a pH range of approximately 4.8 to 9.0. In the presence of complement certain strongly positive sera caused haemolysis of the red cells. The addition of penicillin inhibited the haemagglutination reaction but this effect was reversible by the addition of penicillinase. Certain agglutinating sera gave positive complement fixation tests but no visible precipitates were obtained by tube or double diffusion agar gel techniques. Attempts to obtain active eluates from agglutinated sensitized cells were unsuccessful. It was also found that the haemagglutinating factor did not appear to have any inhibiting effect on the bactericidal action of penicillin.
Starch-gel electrophoresis of positive sera demonstrated haemagglutinating activity in two pre-albumin zones. One such zone, pre-albumin-2, has been shown to be acidic-alpha-1-glycoprotein whereas the nature of pre-albumin-1 remains obscure. In twenty-two of twenty-three sera so tested agglutinating activity was confined to these two zones. In the remaining serum, in addition to activity in the two pre-albumin zones, positive agglutination of sensitized cells was also brought about by the gamma-globulin fraction, and this serum was the only one which gave a positive antiglobulin test. The interpretation of these electrophoretic findings is not altogether clear and requires further elucidation.
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Selected References
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