Mucolytic Enzyme Systems: I. Inhibition of Hyaluronidase by Serum in Poliomyelitis

Abstract

The level of the hyaluronidase inhibitor in blood plasmas taken from 27 active cases of poliomyelitis was, on the avg., about 100% higher than that observed in a comparable control group. A rise in the level of the inhibitor, correlated with the development of symptoms, was also demonstrated in the blood sera of 3 monkeys which were infected with polio-myelitis. Elevation of the serum inhibitor in 28 encephalomye-litic mice was also observed and in another group of 100 infected mice the increase was found to parallel the development of the disease. In all of the spp. examined the increase in the inhibitor level fell off as the terminal stages of the acute infections were approached.