Title:

Quantitative Chemical Studies on Complement or Alexin: I. A Method

Creator:

Heidelberger, Michael

Date:

June 1941

Description:

In the late 1930s, Heidelberger turned to the study of alexin, or immunological complement, blood serum proteins that play an important enzymatic role in regulating immune responses to invading microorganisms, particles, and toxins. Immunologists had puzzled for years over whether or not complement, which at the time was used to refer to the heat-sensitive factor in serum that causes the bursting of antibody-coated cells (immune cytolysis), was a distinct substance, or simply semi-congealed serum. Having determined the molecular weight of polysaccharide-antibody precipitates, Heidelberger was able to show that complement added considerable molecular weight to these precipitates, proving that it was indeed a separate substance. Increased knowledge about alexin would be useful for diagnostic purposes.

Periodical:

Journal of Experimental Medicine

Publisher:

Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research

Rights:

Reproduced from the Journal of Experimental Medicine, 1941, 73, 681-694 by copyright permission of the Rockefeller University Press.

Genre:

Articles

Subject:

Complement System Proteins

Format:

Text

Extent:

14 pages

Relation:

Quantitative Chemical Studies on Complement or Alexin: II. The Interrelation of Complement with Antigen-Antibody Compounds and with Sensitized Red Cells, 1941
Lab notes on complement fixation experiments, 1940

Language:

English

Legacy Source Citation:

Periodical. Heidelberger, Michael. "Quantitative Chemical Studies on Complement or Alexin: I. A Method." Journal of Experimental Medicine 73, 6 (June 1941): 681-694. Article. 14 Images.. Journal of Experimental Medicine

Legacy ID:

DHBBCJ

NLM ID:

101584940X28

Profiles Collection:

The Michael Heidelberger Papers

Shareable Link:

https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/101584940X28

Story Section:

Antigens and Antibodies: Heidelberger and The Rise of Quantitative Immunochemistry, 1928-1954