THE ACTION OF SODIUM SALICYLATE UPON THE FORMATION OF IMMUNE BODIES

1. Rabbits treated with sodium salicylate in daily doses of from 0.16 to 0.2 gm. per kilo of body weight and at the same time immunized with intravenous injections of Streptococcus viridans, both living and in the form of vaccines, and also with washed sheep red blood cells, showed diminished complement-fixing antibodies, agglutinins, and hemolysins when compared with controls similarly immunized. 2. If the antigens were treated with sodium salicylate in vitro and subsequently injected intravenously into rabbits, the animals usually showed lower antibody curves than did rabbits that received the untreated antigen intravenously and sodium salicylate by stomach tube. 3. The beneficial effect of sodium salicylate in rheumatic fever patients probably cannot be attributed to an increased production of circulating immune bodies against the infectious agent. This is, however, no contraindication to the administration of salicylates to patients suffering from infectious diseases.