Abstract
Abstract We have recently reported that sera of cancer patients possess greater lytic capacity for unsensitized erythrocytes after interaction with a cobra venom protein, CVF, (1). This antibody independent lytic process results from utilization of the terminal complement components (C3 to C9) through an alternate pathway that can be initiated by an enzymatically active complex formed by CVF, C3 proactivator (properdin factor B) and other serum constituents (2–4). A hemolytic assay for this reaction sequence has been described in (5). For minimizing the number of variables inherent in studies of this type with sera of hospitalized patients, an experiment was designed to evaluate levels of CVF-mediated lytic activity in the sera of tumor-bearing mice. Toward this end, mice of both sexes (25 ± 2g), were inoculated subcutaneously with 0.5 mg of 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) dissolved in sterile corn oil. The largest experimental group contained mice of the Swiss-Webster strain maintained as an outbred colony in this Institute.
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