William Kleinberg

Effect of Cobalt on Erythropoiesis in Anemic Rabbits

Summary Cobalt injected into animals subjected to repeated bleedings or treated with benzol results in a rapid recovery from the anemia. Cobalt produces this effect by stimulating the formation of erythrogenic precursors in the bone marrow.

Longevity of Erythrocyte and Reticulocyte in Normal and Splenectomized Guinea Pigs

Summary 1. The red cell longevity in normal guinea pigs ranges from 22-28 days. 2. This value increases after splenectomy, reaching a maximum of 32-38 days approximately a month following the operation, and then falls off, becoming normal in about 2 1/2 months. 3. The longevity of the circulating reticulocyte ranges from 4 to 6 days in both normal and splenectomized animals.

Red Cell and Reticulocyte Counts in Guinea Pigs Following Exposure to Low Pressures

Young adult guinea pigs (wgt. 350-400 gm.) were subjected for continuous periods, varying from 5 to 14 days, to pressures of 370-380 mm. Hg. in a specially made low pressure chamber (for details of the chamber, see Dubin 1 ). This exposure is sufficient to cause an increase in red cell count of one to 2.5 million per cu. mm., and a reticulocyte count of 6% to 14%. Red cell counts were made from samples of blood drawn from the ear. The cells on 400 squares of a Levy-Hausser chamber were counted by each of us, and we were required to agree within 4%. Reticulocytes stained with brilliant cresyl blue were counted in wet smears according to the method described by Ramsey and Warren. 2 The behavior of the counts, following termination of the stimulus, in 4 representative animals exposed to the low pressures for different periods of time, is shown in Table I. The red cells are given in millions per cu. mm. and the reticulocytes as a percentage of the total reds. The results obtained from experiments performed on 27 animals may be stated as follows. Soon after termination of the stimulus the counts begin to fall. The red cell counts attain normal values in 20-24 days and the reticulocytes in about 4 to 6 days. The red cell counts do not remain at this normal level but continue to drop, an anemia developing which reaches its maximum approximately a month after removal of the animals from the chamber. This anemia is similar to the one reported by Tyler and Baldwin 3 in rats after exposure to low oxygen tensions. Accompanying this drop below the normal count, there occurs an increase in the reticulocyte count which reaches a maximum at the time when the anemia is most intense. This would seem to indicate that the anemia occurs mainly because of excess destruction of red cells, especially in those cases where the period of exposure is greater than 10 days. The extent of this anemia depends on two factors: (1) the period of exposure to low pressures—in general, longer exposures produce greater rises in red cell count followed by greater percentage drops after withdrawal of the stimulus; (2) the magnitude of the normal red cell count—in animals with lower normal counts, the percentage increases in red cell count, for the same period of low pressure exposure, are almost invariably greater than in animals with higher normal counts. In the former, however, the percentage drops below the normal count of the animal, after termination of the stimulus, are always smaller than in the latter. Following the anemia, the red cell counts rise, and within another month, pass the normal count and reach a level above it, which is not as high as the one attained originally. As the red cell counts increase, the reticulocyte percentages fall. These excursions of the red cell count above and below normal are still evident 3 months after cessation of the stimulus. They become less and less marked, however, until shortly after the fourth or fifth month, the normal count or a figure near this, is maintained. The results of this study shed further light on the delicate nature of what Krumbhaar 4 has called the hemolyto-poietic equilibrium. It demonstrates that both the blood-forming and blood-destroying sides of the system possess, when stimulated excessively, a momentum which carries them beyond normal limits, this momentum becoming less and less marked, in pendulum-like fashion, as the stimulus (in this case, either more or fewer cells than normal) becomes less intense.

Effect of Anti-Hyaluronidase Compounds upon the Response of the Rat to Pituitary Trophic Hormones

Summary Anti-hyaluronidase agents, i.e. phosphorylated hesperidin, d-alphatocopherol phosphate, and chrondroitin sulfate were shown to be capable of increasing the effectiveness of administered pituitary trophic hormones such as follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and corticotrophin. A four-fold increase in effectiveness of FSH was attained when the hormone was administered together with the anti-hyaluronidase agents as compared to the injection of the gonadotrophin alone. A similar degree of enhancement was obtained with corticotrophin. The augmentation induced by the anti-hyaluronidase compounds is attributed to the decreased rate of absorption of the hormone from the site of injection.

Relation of Reticulo-Endothelial System to Refractoriness Developed in Response to Gonadotropic Hormone

Summary 1. Immature splenectomized rats injected with pregnancy urine extract for 20 days produce a smaller quantity of inhibitory substance than normal injected controls. 2. “Blockage” experiments with trypan blue indicate that the production of antagonistic principle is not peculiar to the spleen but is possessed by the reticuloendothelial system as a whole.

Existence of Micellae in Aqueous Solutions of Saponin

It is well known that if certain surface active substances are adsorbed into a surface to form a monolayer, there are certain critical concentrations in which the static surface tension is at a minimum, these corresponding to the concentrations in which the molecules at the surface form regular patterns. Granted certain assumptions, it is possible to determine from the values for these critical concentrations the dimensions of the molecule of the surface active substance, and in this way du Nouy 1 has determined the mean length, breadth, and thickness of such molecules as that of sodium oleate and serum albumin. This note concerns the result obtained when similar experiments are carried out with saponin in aqueous solution. The technique of du Nouy was followed in detail, dynamic and static surface tension measurements being made on solutions of quillia saponin contained in Petrie dishes with a surface area of 63.6 cm.2 Each dynamic surface tension measurement is the average of 15 separate determinations, and each static measurement the average of 10 determinations made after the solution has remained undisturbed for 2 hours. In the calculation, the density of saponin was taken as unity. The graph shows that well marked minima occur in the static tension at concentrations of 1 in 12,500, 1 in 24,500, and 1 in 37,500, and the question arises as to what the appearance of these minima means. If we suppose that they are the result of an orderly arrangement of molecules in a monolayer, we get for the dimensions of the saponin molecule 6.3 x 10-6, 3.2 x 10-6, and 2.1 x 10-6 cm., which, considering the molecular weight of saponin (in the neighborhood of 1000) are absurdly large. The presence of the minima is nevertheless unmistakable, (the minima being just as definite as those obtained by du Nouy for sodium oleate) and if the method is to be trusted at all, the dimensions which are calculated from the values for the critical concentrations must therefore represent the dimensions of orderly arranged agglomerates: not molecules, but micellae together, perhaps, with imbibed water, which are capable of orienting themselves in 3 different ways corresponding to their mean length, breadth, and thickness.