Some cultural, immunological, and biochemical properties of Progenitor cryptocides.

Guinea pigs became skin-positive to test doses of PPD (purified protein derivative-Seibert) and to other related PPD preparations in various degrees following immunization with phenolized cultures of Progenitor cryptocides, an intermittently acid-fast pleomorphic filterable Actinomycete isolated from human cancer patients. This reactivity, indicative of the relationship to M. tuberculosis as well as to several other related microbes, may account for the effective treatment of some types of human cancer with BCG (Bacillus Calmette Guerin). Another property of P. cryptocides is the production in vitro of a parahormone immunologically and biologically related to human chorionic gonadotropin. Since the cancer patient often exhibits various types of hormonal imbalance, the microbic exogenous production of this hormone may explain the neoplastic parahormone syndrome in man. There are some biological differences in experimental animals between the microbic and human chorionic gonadotropin, but the in vitro and radioimmunological tests are identical. The microbic hormone appears to play an important role in human cancer, since it not only is present in tumors, body tissues, and fluids but may be excreted in large amounts in the urine. The amount excreted is variable, depending upon the rate of microbic production of the hormone in vivo and the resistance of the host as expressed through immunological and metabolic degradation systems.