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Effect of Temperature of Inactivation of Human, Rabbit, and Guinea-Pig Serum Upon the Hemolytic Activity of Complement

From the Division of Laboratories and Research, New York State Department of Health, Branch Laboratory, 339 East 25th Street, New York, N. Y.

Abstract

1. The effect upon the hemolytic activity of complement of preliminary incubation (4 hours, 3 to 6 C) in the presence of human, guinea-pig, and rabbit sera inactivated at various temperatures is discussed.
Varying degrees of inhibition or activation of the complement were demonstrated depending upon the temperature of inactivation of the sera. The amount of complement, in terms of hemolytic units, required for 50-per-cent hemolysis and the rate at which the number of units changed varied inversely with the temperature of inactivation of the sera. The inhibitory effect of the sera appeared to be due to properties, relatively heat-labile, and the activating effect to relatively heat-stabile properties.

2. The effect of temperature of inactivation upon the specific activity of syphilitic sera as determined by quantitative changes in the activity of complement is also discussed.
The specific activity of the sera varied with the temperature, and was approximately maximal at 55 to 57 C. The quantitative changes in the activity of the complement in the presence of sera inactivated at 59 C were not below their value at 53 C; therefore it does not appear that the specific activity of the sera was decreased by temperatures of 53 to 59 C.
Although a definite conclusion cannot be drawn from so limited a study, these observations suggest that within limits, the differences in the activity of sera following inactivation are due not to the destruction of antibody by heat, but to other properties of the heated sera that affect the activity of complement.