AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 242, Issue 1 116-R120, Copyright © 1982 by American Physiological Society
Absence of endotoxin fever but not prostaglandin E2 fever in the Brattleboro rat
P. C. Eagan, N. W. Kasting, W. L. Veale and K. E. Cooper
Changes in colonic temperature following intracerebroventricular injection
(icv) of bacterial endotoxin or prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) were measured in
Long-Evans (LE) and Brattleboro (DI) rats. Indwelling cannulas were
implanted into the brains of rats for subsequent microinjection into a
lateral cerebral ventricle. Microinjection of 1 microgram of bacterial
endotoxin into a lateral cerebral ventricle produced a fever in the LE rat
but not in the DI rat. Daily injections of 1 microgram of endotoxin icv in
the DI rat did not result in a fever. Intraperitoneal injections of 50
micrograms of bacterial endotoxin resulted in a fever in the LE rat, but
the DI rat showed no such response. Both groups of animals did produce a
fever in response to icv administration of 200 ng of PGE2. The lack of
arginine vasopressin in the DI rat may be related to the animal's failure
to show a febrile response to endotoxin.
