Involvement of central action of lipopolysaccharide in pyrogen fever.

To elucidate the mechanisms of fever response by bacterial pyrogen (lipopolysaccharide, LPS), we investigated both pyrogenicity and Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) gelation activity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) withdrawn from febrile rabbits induced by i.v. injection of LPS. One ml of CSF was withdrawn from donor animals 2 hr after i.v. injection of E. coli LPS at graded doses of O, 1, 10 and 50 micrograms/kg, and its pyrogenicity was checked by administration into cisterna magna of recipient animals. Pyrogenicity was revealed only in the CSF withdrawn from the group injected with 50 micrograms/kg of LPS. Differences of both protein content and concentrations of ions (Na, K and Ca) were not obtained among the CSF withdrawn from control and LPS-injected groups. All of the above CSF had no LAL gelation activity, but the activity could be detected in the CSF withdrawn from animals injected with a higher dose of LPS (500 micrograms/kg, i.v.). LAL gelation activity of LPS dissolved in normal CSF was 2 orders less potent in comparison with that of LPS dissolved in saline, which suggested the presence of inhibitor(s) in CSF for LAL assay. Pyrogenicity was not revealed in the CSF withdrawn from hyperthermic rabbits induced by administration of reserpine after pretreatment with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor. These findings suggest that the central action of LPS is involved in pyrogen fever and that monoamines are not closely related to pyrogen fever.