Role of haemophilus pleuropneumoniae lipopolysaccharide endotoxin in the pathogenesis of porcine Haemophilus pleuropneumonia.

Intact Haemophilus pleuropneumoniae cells (strain Shope 1, serotype 1), highly purified lipopolysaccharide (LPS) obtained from this strain of H pleuropneumoniae, as well as from Escherichia coli O111:B4, filter-sterilized H pleuropneumoniae cell-free culture supernatant fluid, and heat-inactivated supernatant fluid were given intranasally to CF1 mice and intratracheally to pigs. Pulmonary lesions induced by H pleuropneumoniae in mice were similar to those induced by H pleuropneumoniae in pigs. Histologically, lungs of mice and pigs killed 1 or 2 days after inoculation with 200 micrograms of highly purified H pleuropneumoniae LPS had lesions similar to one another and were similar to those in mice and pigs given intact H pleuropneumoniae, except that little or no necrosis or hemorrhage was observed. In mice killed 1 or 2 days after inoculation of 200 micrograms of E coli O111:B4 LPS, pulmonary lesions were similar to those in mice given H pleuropneumoniae LPS. Pulmonary lesions in mice given cell-free culture supernatant fluid obtained from a midlog-phase growth culture of H pleuropneumoniae cultivated in a chemically defined medium were severe and consisted of neutrophil infiltration and extensive necrosis. In mice, the heat-inactivated supernatant fluid produced mild lesions that consisted of foci of neutrophil aggregation and no necrosis. Extensive necrosis observed in lesions caused by cell-free culture supernatant fluid could be attributed to the action of a heat-labile component, perhaps by the extracellular heat-labile hemolysin produced by H pleuropneumoniae cultivated in chemically defined medium. A LPS endotoxin and a heat-labile factor may be involved in the pulmonary lesion development in the acute phase of porcine Haemophilus pleuropneumonia.