STUDY ON TUBERCULOSTATIC FACTOR OF MAMMALIAN SERUM

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Abstract
The investigation of the effects of specimens of various mammalian sera upon the growth of tubercle bacilli showed that all of the tested sera but guinea pig serum possess tuberculostatic activity. This activity is dependent upon the presence of two substances, one of which is heat sensitive and nondialyzable and the other is heat stable and dialyzable. These two constituents of the tuberculostatic factor do not show specificity for the animal species; the activity of one constituent from one animal can be supplemented by a second constituent from another animal. The presence of the tuberculostatic system seems to be genetically controlled; the antimycobacterial factor, while present in one species of mice, may be partially or completely absent in other species. Attempts at purification and identification of the constituents of the tuberculostatic factor are described. The nondialyzable, heat-sensitive constituent separates in the beta-2 globulin region during electrophoretic fractionation. The addition of this constituent to inactive guinea pig serum or to untreated human serum induces or increases many fold the tuberculostasis in the respective sera.