The absorption of simple lysins at cell interfaces

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Abstract
Certain hemolysins become rapidly concentrated at red cell surfaces, a considerable fraction of the total lysin present in the system disappearing from the fluid between the cells within 10 or 15 sec. This rapid "initial absorption" is most marked in the case of digitonin and somewhat less marked in the case of the bile salts; in the case of saponin it appears to be absent. The rapid "initial absorption" is followed by a much slower "delayed absorption" of lysin during which the conc. of free lysin in the system steadily falls. The course of this "delayed absorption" can be closely followed in the case of saponin which shows no "initial absorption." If the saponin is added to a suspension of red cell envelopes (stromata), a constant quantity of lysin disappears from the system in such time as would be sufficient for the complete hemolysis of that number of red cells from which the stromata were obtained. The fall in free lysin conc. is virtually linear with time and this fact, together with the fact that a constant quantity disappears, is in accordance with existing theory. The course of the disappearance of saponin from a system containing not stromata but red cells is similar, but instead of a constant quantity disappearing, the amount which disappears is roughly a constant fraction of the amount of lysin initially introduced. The difference between this result and that immediately preceding is accounted for by the fact that the cells liberate hemoglobin as they hemolyse and that the liberated hemoglobin is inhibitory. With the lysins digitonin, Na tauro-cholate, and glycocholate, the phenomena appear to be essentially of the same kind, although results cannot be obtained with the same degree of quantitative exactness as in that for saponin. The phenomena of "initial absorption," "delayed absorption," etc., which occur in these hemolytic systems do not seem to correspond even remotely to the "adsorption" which many investigators have postulated in connection with systems of this kind.

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