[Studies on the activation of complement by encapsulated and non-encapsulated staphylococci after their extraction with guanidinium chloride (author's transl)].

All demonstrable enzymes and toxins of encapsulated staphylococci (KS) were removed by extraction with guanidinium chloride. The capsules, however, remained apparently intact on the extracted (KS-Gu) staphylococci (fig. 1), as well as clumping factor and protein A. KS and KS-Gu failed to activate complement in the absence of specific antibodies. They showed neither immunadherence (table 1) nor agglutination by an antiserum against C3 (table 2). KS and KS-Gu had no significant chemotactic effects in vitro upon bovine granulocytes (fig. 2).