A Contribution to the Action of Amidoacids, Peptids and Proteins on Hemolysis by Cobravenom
Authors: Zunz Edgard , Gyorgy Paul 
Published: December 2022

The effects of the amino-acids, peptids and proteoses upon the cobra venom hemolysis vary according to the species of blood corpuscles used. They depend also upon the amount of the respective compound present in the blood-venom mixture. The hemolytic action of cobra venom on the red cells of guinea pig's blood is markedly hastened and increased in intensity by phenylglycocoll, leucin, glycyltryptophan, and protoalbumose. The hemolysis is produced more quickly in the presence of large quantities than it is with small amounts of phenylglycocoll and leucin. Heteroalbumose tends slightly to increase the intensity of the hemolysis; alanin, on the contrary, diminishes it a little. Glycocoll and particularly diglycin, triglycin and leucylglycin inhibit the hemolysis in direct proportion to their concentration. In the presence of 0.1 cc. of fresh guinea pig's serum the accelerating action of protoalbumose and of glycyltryptophan and the inhibiting action of the strong concentrations of diglycin, of triglycin and of leucylglycin is hardly greater than that of the weaker concentrations. Heteroalbumose shows marked effects. The presence of inactive serum exercises a protective action upon the blood corpuscles. It does not interfere with the acceleration of the hemolysis by phenylglycocoll, but it does diminish the adjuvant effects of glycyltryptophan and leucin and it almost completely annihilates those of protoalbumose. It weakens considerably the marked effects of diglycin. Glycocoll and heteroalbumose appear no longer to exercise any in-influence on the hemolysis. The influence of the amino acids, peptids and proteoses upon human blood presents much resemblance to that exercised by these same products upon the blood of the guinea pig. In every instance the weak doses of glycocoll accelerate very slightly the hemolysis of the human red corpuscles. Heteroalbumose often exercises an unfavorable effect on the hemolysis in the absence of serum. Glycyltryptophan has, according to the dose, sometimes a slightly favorable action, sometimes a slightly unfavorable one. Tetraglycin and pentaglycin hinder the hemolysis as does diglycin and triglycin. Phenylglycocoll and leucin favor the hemolysis of dog's blood by cobra venom in the absence of serum as well as in the presence of inactivated guinea pig's serum. The accelerating action of leucin persists in the presence of fresh guinea pig's serum while phenylglycocoll on the contrary retards the hemolysis under these circumstances. The influence exerted by glycyltryptophan is unfavorable in the absence of serum, variable in the presence of fresh guinea pig's serum and favorable in the presence of inactivated serum. Alanin and glycocoll have not a very marked action upon the hemolysis. In the absence of serum, the influence of diglycin, triglycin, leucylglycin, protoalbumose, and heteroalbumose is unfavorable to the hemolysis The same is true of the action of diglycin, triglycin, and heteroalbumose in the presence of fresh or inactivated guinea pig's serum. In the presence of fresh guinea pig's serum variable effects are produced by leucylglycin and protoalbumose according to the dose and according to the suspension of the dog's blood. Leucylglycin favors the hemolysis in the presence of inactivated serum while protoalbumose exerts a variable influence upon that phenomenon under this condition. The cobra venom hemolysis of rabbit's red corpuscles without the addition of serum is not marked excepting in the presence of leucin and sometimes also of glycyltryptophan, and of protoalbumose, the strongest dose of the preparation examined being always the most effective. The addition of fresh guinea pig's serum elicits a very considerable inhibitory action on the part of heteroalbumose and phenylglycocoll. The protective action of the inactivated guinea pig's serum is very intense and greatly diminishes the favorable action of leucin and of glycyltryptophan. The addition of fresh rabbit's serum diminishes the favorable effect of leucin and extinguishes completely that of glycyltryptophan and of protoalbumose; it accentuates the inhibiting influence of the large doses of diglycin, triglycin and leucylglycin. Inactivated rabbit's serum hardly modifies the effects of the different amino acids, peptids and proteoses upon the cobra venom hemolysis of the red corpuscles of this animal species. In the absence of fresh guinea-pig's serum, cobra venom, when combined with appropriate quantities of certain protein derivatives, produces only rarely, a very slight and slow hemolysis of the red corpuscles of the sheep, the calf and the ox. In the presence of inactivated guinea pig's serum hemolysis of the red corpuscles of the calf and the ox is never observed. The same is true also for the blood of the sheep excepting for one instance where the addition of one cubic centimeter of phenylglycocoll has caused the same degree of hemolysis as without the serum. In the presence of fresh guinea pig's serum the influence of the same protein derivative upon the venom hemolysis of sheep's red corpuscles varies very greatly according to the amount of the substance used and upon the experiment. Glycocoll, diglycin, triglycin and leucylglycin exercise some times a favorable effect, phenylglycocoll, on the contrary, acting unfavorably. Heteroalbumose possesses a strong inhibiting action. In the presence of fresh guinea pig's serum, the different protein derivatives are found only exceptionally to exert an accelerating effect, which, moreover is not marked, upon the cobra venom hemolysis of the red corpuscles of the ox and the calf. On the other hand, a strongly inhibiting action is exerted by phenylglycocoll and heteroalbumose and a similar though less marked action is exercised by the larger amounts of diglycin, triglycin and leucylglycin. Triglycin, nevertheless, accelerates sometimes the hemolysis of the red corpuscles of the calf. The large doses of glycocoll, glycyltryptophan, leucin and alanin have a slightly unfavorable action upon the hemolysis of ox blood; such is also sometimes the case with leucin toward the blood of the calf.