Role of prostaglandin D2 in the hypothermia of rats caused by bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

The intraperitoneal administration of lipopolysaccharide from Salmonella typhimurium (1 mg/kg) caused a fall in the rat colonic temperature of about 2 degrees C at an ambient temperature of 22 +/- 3 degrees C. The hypothermia induced by the lipopolysaccharide was abated in a dose-dependent manner by the administration of indomethacin. Other inhibitors of prostaglandin synthetase such as aspirin, flufenamic acid, and phenylbutazone had effects similar to those of indomethacin. When various prostaglandins were injected intracerebroventricularly, only prostaglandin D2 caused a dose-dependent fall in the colonic temperature at doses between 1.2 and 6 nmol/kg. Microinjection of prostaglandin D2 into the preoptic area caused hypothermia of about 1 degree C. However, injection of prostaglandin D2 into the posterior hypothalamus had little effect on the colonic temperature. The hypothermia caused by prostaglandin D2 was not abated by the administration of indomethacin. The amount of prostaglandin D2 increased significantly in the preoptic/hypothalamic region of rat brain 1 hr after the intraperitoneal administration of the lipopolysaccharide, whereas such increase was not observed in rats pretreated with indomethacin. The in vitro incubation of the preoptic/hypothalamic slices with the lipopolysaccharide also increased the amount of prostaglandin D2. These results suggest that the intraperitoneal administration of the lipopolysaccharide induces the release of prostaglandin D2 in the preoptic/hypothalamic area of rat brain and that the latter compound is involved in the hypothermic response of rats to the lipopolysaccharide.