1958 Volume 34 Issue 7 Pages 444-449
Endotoxins of various bacteria, prepared by the same method, were compared as to their effect on circulating platelets as well as on the other cellular constituents of blood of rabbit by a single intravenous injection of 100μg per kg.
(1) Endotoxins of Shigella flexneri 2a, 2b, 3a, and Shigella sonnei showed a powerful effect of decreasing the circulating platelets. The recovery took place slowly and even after 24-48 hours the number of circulating platelets shows a decrease.
The endotoxin of Escherichia coli FCS80, Salmonella typhi strain Chiba, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed also a transient decrease of circulating platelets during first 2-4 hours but the effect was weaker as compared with shigella endotoxin and full recovery took place within 4-24 hours after the injection. The endotoxin of Staphylococcus aureus 209P and Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain Aoyama showed no recognizable effect on the number of circulating platelets by administration of 100μg per kg.
(2) The circulating erythrocyte showed a slight and transient increase in number in the first 1-4 hours after the administration of shigella and Salmonella typhi endotoxin and rapidly returned to the starting value. In some cases a slight decrease was shown. The endotoxin of the other bacteria showed no appreciable change.
(3) The circulating leucocyte showed leucopenia in the first 1-4 hours and a remarkable leucocytosis 24 hours after the administration of shigella endotoxin. The endotoxin of Escherichia coli FCS80, Salmonella typhi, Staphylococcus aureus 209P, Mycobacterium tuberculosis strain Aoyama, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed also a slight initial leucopenia followed by slight or no leucocytosis.
(4) A crude correlation between the highest incidence of a critical condition in the initial stage of infection of Shigella paradysenteriae and sonnei and the strongest effect of these bacteria on the circulating platelets and leucocytes was observed in this experiment suggesting the importance of further investigation as to its significance.
