IMMUNOLOGICAL STUDIES IN RELATION TO THE SUPRARENAL GLAND : V. THE EFFECT OF REPEATED INJECTIONS OF SOLUTIONS CONTAINING SODIUM SALTS AND GLUCOSE ON THE HEMOLYSIN FORMATION OF NORMAL AND SUPRARENALECTOMIZED RATS.

Table I and Figs. 1 and 2 summarize the experiments done on 150 rats. Suprarenalectomy in rats is followed by a striking depression in antibody formation most marked during the first week following the operation. Repeated injections of large amounts of isotonic sodium chloride or sodium acetate solutions restore the antibody titer to normal. The effect of these solutions is not due to diuresis alone, since isotonic glucose solution does not affect the titer, nor to the sodium alone, since hypertonic solutions of sodium chloride in small volume have little influence on the titer. Both the sodium ion and the water volume are necessary in the restoration of the titer.