The effect of sodium chloride extract and commercial lipopolysaccharides of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium on chickens.

In chickens inoculated into the heart with a sodium chloride extract of Escherichia coli strain (serotype O2) isolated from a chicken with colibacillosis, characteristic hemorrhages into the anterior chamber of the eyes (hyphema) were found. Significant lesions were limited to the eyes. Cyclophosphamide-treated chickens were more sensitive to the extract than untreated chickens and hyphema was usually seen in association with hemorrhages of the iris. These activities were not reduced by heating the extract at 60 degrees C for one hour or by trypsin digestion. Chickens inoculated into the heart with commercial lipopolysaccharides of E. coli (serotypes O111:B4 and O55:B5) and Salmonella typhimurium showed similar lesions in the eyes as the chickens inoculated with the sodium chloride extract. These findings suggest that the endotoxin may induce hyphema in chickens.