Effects of endotoxin, interleukin-1 beta and prostaglandin injections on fever response in broilers.

1. The effect of endotoxin, interleukin-1 beta and prostaglandin on fever response was studied in 80 broilers (Hubbard strain). Endotoxin (E. coli, LPS) was injected i.v. (1.5 micrograms/kg) and icv (1.5 micrograms/bird); interleukin-1 (human recombinant IL-1 beta, 80 pg/bird) and prostaglandin E2 (5 micrograms/bird) were injected icv. Indomethacin (10 mg/kg, i.v.) pretreatment was also used before i.v. endotoxin injection. 2. The results showed that indomethacin was able to block the fever response induced by i.v. endotoxin injection, and IL-1 beta and PGE2 were both effective in producing fever when injected icv. These data suggest a prostaglandin-mediated fever response by broilers, and also a strong evidence of the involvement of endogenous pyrogen (interleukin-1) in fever response in birds.