Effect on the Immunity Mechanism of Various Avitaminoses.

Abstract

Various authors1, 2, 3 have shown that avitaminosis increases the susceptibility to both bacterial invasion and to bacterial toxins.In this laboratory, in several groups of white rats deprived of vitamins A and D, or B, or E, it has been found that the resistance to tetanus toxin, of these avitaminic animals, is very markedly diminished when compared with that of the normally nourished controls (from 40 to 100 times less).In other series the effect of these avitaminoses on the formation of agglutinins and bacteriolysins was investigated by the usual methods of injecting typhoid bacilli, under constant conditions into avitaminic and control groups.The results may be briefly summarized as follows:After several injections of killed typhoid cultures, the serum of the avitaminic animals regularly showed a much lower agglutinin titre and less bacteriolytic power than that of the normally nourished controls. Following the injections of living typhoid bacilli, a similar but slighter difference was found in the se...