The disease of the fox commonly known as Chastek paralysis represents an unusual type of a vitamin deficiency disease in that it results from a destruction of the dietary thiamin occurring, preliminary to absorbtion. The exhaustive studies of GREEN, CARLSSON and EVANS (1941) clearly demonstrated that the destruction, and consequently also the paralysis, occurred if certain species of fresh or frozen fish were added to the ration given to foxes. Since the addition of excessive amounts of thiamin to a ration containing fish prevented the disease, it was concluded that some component of the fish was responsible for the thiamin loss and further that this loss occurred during the intimate mixing of the fish tissue with the thiamin containing portions of the diet. WOLLEY (1941) reported that the active ingredient in fresh carp was heat labile, not dialysable and could be extracted with 10 per cent solution of sodium chloride. These extracts were found t o inhibit the growth-promoting effect of thiamin on yeast cells (Endomyces vernalis). The same year SPITZER, COOMBES, ELVE-HJEM and WISNICKY demonstrated that chicks in whose diet 25 per cent of raw carp were included developed typical signs of vitamin B,-deficiency, though the food was otherwise containing adequate quantities of vitamin B,. Animals fed on raw carp entrails developed polyneuritis earlier than those fed on the heads 204 HERBERT LIECIi AND GUNNAR LGREX. and tails or the muscle, meat or skin. Experiments in vitro showed that the inactivation took place in the food-mixture and t h a t i t was proportionate t o the time of contact with the fish. It was suggested t h a t the action was of enzymatical nature. I n 1943 SEALOCK, LIVERMORE and EVANS reported the results of their continued investigations. They likewise concluded that the rapid destruction by heat, and the precipitabilitp by common protein precipitants indicated t h a t t,he fish principle was of protein nature. They also considered the factor to be of enzymatical nature and investigated the distribution of the factor i n carp viscera. It was present mainly in the majority of the visceral tissues and t'o a lesser degree i n the trimmings (heads, skins, fins and skeleton). On the other hand, the meat ("somatic muscle") contained little or none of t)he principle. From the results obtained by GREEN a,nd coworkers it could be suspected t h a t the thiamininactivating factor might be present i n other fishes than carp. I n view of the fact that fish is frequently included i n the ration of foxes in this country too and t h a t endemic occurrences of ('hastek paralysis have also been reported here (CARLSTROM and RUBARTH, 1943) it was decided to investigate the distribution of the thiamin inactivat,ing factor in some common Swedish fishes. Esp erinien td.Since SEALOCK and coworkers stated that aqueous extract' of fresh fish t,issues were subjected to a loss of activity even when stored at 5" C, special precautions were taken to exclude the danger of an inact,ivat,ion of the t'hiamin destructing factor. T...
Previous investigations ( Teilum, 1951 and have shown that under certain conditions cortisone (and corticotropin) exert a pronounced amyloidosis-producing effect in animals. In mice treated with injections of sodium caseinate for several weeks, but insufficient to produce amyloidosis-which was ascertained by biopsy of the spleeninjections of 0.3 mg of cortisone daily for a few days resulted in the prompt appearance of amyloid in the spleen. Pirani ef al. (1949) found amyloid in guinea-pigs fed scorbutogenic diets for eight weeks or longer.Apparently antagonistic effects of cortisone and ascorbic acid on a number of mesenchymal reactions (pyroninophilia of mesenchymal cells, including plasma cells, production of metachromatic ground substance, granulation tissue and healing of wounds) have been emphasized (Teilum, 1952). It was found that the normal mesenchymal response to a noxious stimulus was a proliferation of pyroninophilic mesenchymal cells, including plasma cells, with a globulin increase in the blood. The production of such related homogeneous substances as hyaline, amyloid and paramyloid was always preceded by the appearance of pyroninophilia of mesenchymal derivative cells in loco, representing the primary origin of these substances. The cellular changes in the active phase of mesenchymal (rheumatic and pararheumatic) disorders-e.g. in the spleen, the glomeruli of the kidney and the connective tissue-were also characterized by pyroninophilia indicative of an increased production of cytoplasmatic protein (ribonucleic acid), accompanied by typical changes in the serum globuline. It was found that the pyroninophilia was maintained by ascorbic acid and depressed by cortisone, resulting under certain conditions in the formation of pre-amyloid or amyloid, which will first appear in the organs or tissues, e.g. the spleen, in which the cytoplasmatic alteration of reticulo-endothelial cells was most marked. Together with this phase development from pyroninophilia to pre-amyloid or amyloid phase characteristic changes were found in the electrophoretic pattern of the serum ( T e i l u m et al., 1950 and 1951).Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) deficiency produces a general involvement of mesen-This work was supported by grants from the Danish League against Rheumatism and King Christian X's Foundation.
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