Lead enhances lipopolysaccharide and tumor necrosis factor liver injury.

Lead markedly augments the lethality of endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats. In this model of LPS toxicity, the liver is severely injured. Much of the tissue injury produced by LPS is thought to be mediated by the cytokine tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Tumor necrosis factor recently has been speculated to be a mediator of several models of liver injury such as that produced by galactosamine. To investigate the possible role of TNF in the lead-enhanced LPS toxicity model, we administered doses of lead acetate (15 mg/kg), LPS (100 micrograms/kg), or TNF (6.25 x 10(6) U/kg) that produced minimal changes in liver enzymes. However, when lead was administered simultaneously with either LPS or TNF, serum aspartate transaminase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, glutamyl transpeptidase, and plasma triglyceride levels were markedly increased. Lead + LPS treatment increased both peak serum TNF concentrations and TNF "area under the curve" as compared with LPS alone. We conclude that lead not only enhances LPS lethality but also LPS liver injury. Furthermore, lead enhances TNF liver injury and increases LPS-stimulated serum TNF levels. These data suggest that the lead-enhanced LPS model offers a system for studying TNF-induced liver injury.