Studies on nonspecific antihemolytic reaction of sera of pregnant women and patients of different diseases to θ hemolysin of cl. perfringens type A.

Abstract

Two hundred fourty nine sera taken for Wassermann's reaction and 79 sera of patients of different diseases were examined on antihemolytic reaction to θ hemolysin of Cl. perfringens type A. The latter sera were also tested on antistreptolysin O titre. In this study, antihemolytic reaction of the sera in a dilution, above 1: 20 was regarded to be positive.
Among the former 249 sera 28 sera were positive. Clinical diagnoses of these positive cases were as follows: 23 cases of pregnancy, each 1 case of erythematodes, chronic hepatitis, hypertension, schizophrenia and an unidentified case.
Among the latter 79 sera, 25 cases were positive, of which 6 cases were clinically related to streptococcal infection: rheumatic fever or acute nephritis, showing relatively high antistreptolysin O titre. Such antihemolytic reaction to O hemolysin of cl. perfringens type A as these cases would be rather regarded as the neutralizing effect of antistreptolysinO. according to Todd's (1941) report that antistreptolysin O neutralizes θ hemolysin of cl. perfringens type A. Clinical diagnoses of other 17 cases of 25 positive sera were diseases of liver or bile ducts, showing jaundice. Clinical diagnoses of the remaining 2cases were high blood pressure. On the other hand, pregnancy, hypertension or obstructive jaundice usually demonstrate excess of serum cholesterol which neutralizes according to Todd (1941) θ hemolysin of cl. perfringens type A.
Concequently, antihemolytic reaction of 47 positive sera except 7 cases of streptococcal infection may be regarded as the neutralizing effect of cholesterol excess in blood. The cases were as follows: 23 cases of pregnancy, 3 cases of hypertension, 24 cases of liver and bile duct disease that caused obstructive jaundice (5 cases of liver cirrhosis, 11 cases of hepatitis, 1 case of cholecystitis and 7 cases of liver canser).