Studies on the Immunospecific and Non-specific Substance of Bacillus anthracis

Abstract

1. A antigenic substance was isolated from the heated cell extract of B. anthracis through trichloroacetic acid treatment, the removal of lipids by ether, aceton-, ammonium sulfate-fractionation and zone electrophoresis.2. The substance was shown to be a single component by zone electrophoresis, ultracentrifugation and agar diffusion test.3. The precipitating titer of the substance for anti-anthracis serum was positive in 2, 048×103fold dilution.4. The substance was nonspecific in the sense that it reacted with anti-B. megatherium (B. cereus) and anti-B. subtilis serum.5. The substance was positive in molisch and anthrone reaction and negative in protein and nucleic acid reaction; thus it was to be polysaccharide.