The lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-associated protein (LAP) was extracted from Pasteurella haemolytica serotype A1 strains L101 (bovine origin) and 82-25 (ovine origin). Extracts contained 0.017% total LPS and appeared as only two bands at 14 and 16.6 kDa after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. To determine the extent of pulmonary inflammation induced by LAP and its possible role in the pathogenesis of pneumonic pasteurellosis, LAP (500 micrograms in pyrogen-free saline [PFS]) was deposited by fiber-optic bronchoscopy into the dorsum of the caudal portion of the cranial lobe of the right lung of calves (strain L101 LAP) and sheep (strain 82-25 LAP). LPS (500 micrograms in PFS), 3-h P. haemolytica cultures (1.6 x 10(8) to 1.9 x 10(8) CFU in PFS), and PFS alone were deposited similarly as controls. At necropsy, 24 h after deposition, gross and histologic pulmonary lesions of calves and sheep given LAP, LPS, and P. haemolytica were similar and consisted of various degrees of acute bronchopneumonia (relative severities of lesions induced: LAP < LPS < live organisms). By subjective histologic interpretation and semiquantitative morphometry, animals given LAP had the highest percentage of macrophages per alveolar lumen and the lowest percentage of neutrophils. The lesions from animals given LPS were more severe than those given LAP, but the morphometric cell counts were similar. In contrast, animals inoculated with P. haemolytica had lesions typical of this agent, consisting of many neutrophils, proteinaceous exudate, and a few macrophages. Morphometrically, these lesions had the highest numbers of neutrophils and the lowest numbers of macrophages. These studies show that LAP can induce an inflammatory response in the alveolar lumens and may play a role in the pathogenesis of pneumonic pasteurellosis.