Effect of Triton on the Sensitivity of Guinea Pig Red Cells to Hemolysis

Triton WR-1339, while not bacteriostatic for virulent tubercle bacilli in ~tro, has the ability to suppress tuberculosis in experimental animals (1-3). The most striking effect on the host following the administration of triton appears to be a hyperlipemia (4-6). Available evidence would indicate, however, that there is no correlation between therapeutic activity and the degree of lipemia produced (7). In the course of studies in this laboratory on the effect of triton on guinea pig tissues, particularly monocytes obtained from paraffin oil-induced peritoneal exudates, certain findings led us to believe that the cellular surfaces were somehow altered by triton. This possibility seemed all the more reasonable since surface-active agents chemically similar to triton have the ability to protect human red cells against hemolysis by thermal shock, presumably by chemical alteration of the cell surface' (8). The results of the experiments to be described show that triton increases the sensitivity of guinea pig red cells to hemolysis by thermal shock, and further, that it increases the resistance of guinea pig leucocytes to disruption by sonic vibration and lysis by acetone.