[Bactericidal effect of cationic proteins of cellular origin on staphylococci]

A study was made of the bactericidal action of thymus histones, histone-like substance, from the nuclei of rabbit leukocytes and lysosomal cation proteins from the same leukocyte on different staphylococcus cultures. The majority of the strains of coagulasoneagative staphylococci perished under the effect of the preparations tested; cultures forming this enzyme retained their viability, irrespective of their virulence for mice, their capacity to the lecithinase formation and to mannite fermentation. The preparations studied possessed a different bactericidal activity. It is supposed that there existed an correlation between the sensitivity of staphylococcus strains to the antimicrobial action of the leukocytic cation proteins and the index of phagocytosis completion of hese microbes.