In this study of the upper respiratory infections usually grouped under the heading of common cold, our primary interest has been in etiology. In earlier work (1, 2), two groups of organisms were investigated for possible causative relationship: (a) the bacteria more readily cultivated from the upper respiratory tract and (b) the group of Gram-negative, filter-passing anaerobes first described by Olitsky and Gates (3) and Olitsky and McCartney (4) and more recently in studies by Branham (5), Noble and Brainard (6) and others.In our work a number of normal individuals were taken and by serial cultures, over periods of several months, the basic bacterial flora of their noses and throats was determined. Concurrently detailed observations were made of quantitative and qualitative changes occurring in this flora in the course of colds. The bacteria included in the first study (1) were streptococcus, hemolytic and non-hemolytic; B. pfeifferi, including the hemolytic forms; Gram-negative cocci; diphtheroids; Staphylococcus albus, aureus and citreus; pneumococcus and other occasionally encountered miscellaneous organisms. In the second study (2) the various types of filter-passing anaerobes referred to above were included.From the results obtained in this work we were led to conclude that none of the organisms in the first group are of primary etiolpgical significance, although some of them are of importance as secondary invaders at times and that the filter-passing anaerobes constitute 701
1. The agglutination inhibition zone, artificially produced by heating, has been studied. 2. The phenomenon is specific and is dependent upon the presence in the inhibition zone serum of altered agglutinin (agglutinoid).
From the foregoing evidence, specific bacterial agglutination may be conceived of as follows: When bacteria are mixed with their homologous agglutinative sera, specific union between organism and agglutinin occurs. This interaction consists of specific coating of the bacteria by globulin. By virtue of the fact, noted by Loeb and illustrated in Fig. 6, that protein film formation gives the coated particle the characteristics of denatured protein, the bacteria now take on the character of particles of denatured globulin. Particles of denatured protein flocculate whenever their charge is reduced by electrolyte to a critical level lying somewhere between 12 and 14 millivolts. This is true even when the salt is strong, as, unlike bacterial particles, their cohesive force is not readily depressed by salt. The sensitized bacteria, now being essentially particles of denatured protein, likewise agglutinate as soon as their charge is reduced by electrolyte to this potential level.
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