Biomaterial Database

Comparison of endotoxin and leukocytic pyrogen pyrogenicity in newborn guinea pigs. 1977

C M Blatteis

Guinea pigs under 8 days of age generally are unable to develop fever (viz., deltaTre greater than 0.5 degrees C) in response to a standardized dose of endotoxin (2 mug/kg iv of Salmonella enteritidis [SE]). This study was undertaken to determine whether this lack of responsiveness might be due to an incapacity of leukocytes from young neonates to produce sufficient leukocytic pyrogen (LP). Three series of experiments were performed at Ta = 27 degrees C: guinea pigs aged 0-2, 4, and 8 days were injected iv with: a) 2, 4, 8, or 16 mug/kg of SE, b) 0.1, 0.5, or 1.0 ml of LP generated by 8 mug of SE/25 X 10(6) leukocytes from adult guinea pigs (LPa), or c) 0.1 or 1.0 ml of LP generated by 8 mug of SE/25 X 10(6) leukocytes from 0-5-, 6-12-, and 13-16-day-old guinea pigs (LPn). Adult guinea pigs received iv 1.0 ml of LPa or LPn. The results revealed that fever could be induced in these animals from birth, but the required doses of SE, LPa and LPn were greater the younger the guinea pigs. Under these conditions, LPn, regardless of the donors' ages, produced fever in all the recipients. It is concluded that the pyrogenic unresponsiveness of newborn guinea pigs to endotoxin may be related not to an inability of leukocytes from these neonates to elaborate LP, but rather to an insensitivity of, presumably, their hypothalamic febrogenic mechanisms to low levels of LP.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007962	Leukocytes	White blood cells. These include granular leukocytes (BASOPHILS; EOSINOPHILS; and NEUTROPHILS) as well as non-granular leukocytes (LYMPHOCYTES and MONOCYTES).	Blood Cells, White,Blood Corpuscles, White,White Blood Cells,White Blood Corpuscles,Blood Cell, White,Blood Corpuscle, White,Corpuscle, White Blood,Corpuscles, White Blood,Leukocyte,White Blood Cell,White Blood Corpuscle
D008297	Male		Males
D011749	Pyrogens	Substances capable of increasing BODY TEMPERATURE and cause FEVER and may be used for FEVER THERAPY. They may be of microbial origin, often POLYSACCHARIDES, and may contaminate distilled water.	Pyrogen
D001833	Body Temperature Regulation	The processes of heating and cooling that an organism uses to control its temperature.	Heat Loss,Thermoregulation,Regulation, Body Temperature,Temperature Regulation, Body,Body Temperature Regulations,Heat Losses,Loss, Heat,Losses, Heat,Regulations, Body Temperature,Temperature Regulations, Body,Thermoregulations
D004305	Dose-Response Relationship, Drug	The relationship between the dose of an administered drug and the response of the organism to the drug.	Dose Response Relationship, Drug,Dose-Response Relationships, Drug,Drug Dose-Response Relationship,Drug Dose-Response Relationships,Relationship, Drug Dose-Response,Relationships, Drug Dose-Response
D004731	Endotoxins	Toxins closely associated with the living cytoplasm or cell wall of certain microorganisms, which do not readily diffuse into the culture medium, but are released upon lysis of the cells.	Endotoxin
D005260	Female		Females
D006168	Guinea Pigs	A common name used for the genus Cavia. The most common species is Cavia porcellus which is the domesticated guinea pig used for pets and biomedical research.	Cavia,Cavia porcellus,Guinea Pig,Pig, Guinea,Pigs, Guinea
D000367	Age Factors	Age as a constituent element or influence contributing to the production of a result. It may be applicable to the cause or the effect of a circumstance. It is used with human or animal concepts but should be differentiated from AGING, a physiological process, and TIME FACTORS which refers only to the passage of time.	Age Reporting,Age Factor,Factor, Age,Factors, Age
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia