Increase in macroglobin antibodies of mouse and pig following injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide

A single intraperitoneal injection of 30 mg. of lipopolysaccharide into a pig gave rise to a rapid evanescent increase in opsonic activity towards Salmonella typhimurium C5. This increase was due to antibodies which were shown by density gradient centrifugation and DEAE chromatography to be β₂M macroglobulins and to be indistinguishable from the `natural' antibodies present in normal pig serum. The macroglobulin concentration and the opsonic activity were shown to increase for several days but were returning to normal by the 15th day.     

A solid-phase radioimmunoassay for bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

A radioimmunoassay for E. coli 055:B5 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is described. The LPS was derivatised by two new methods and subsequently radiolabeled with 125I to a specific activity of 2-4 mCi/mg without apparent loss in its biophysical, immunological or biological activities. Using antibody-coated polystyrene tubes, a solid-phase radioimmunoassay was developed with a sensitivity of 10-500 ng/ml of LPS.     

Estradiol-mediated increases in the anorexia induced by intraperitoneal injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide in female rats

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) derived from the cell walls of gram-negative bacteria causes a robust acute phase response (APR) that includes fever, anorexia, and many other elements. Because immune system function, including some models of illness anorexia, is sexually differentiated, we investigated the sexual differentiation of the anorexia induced by intraperitoneal LPS injections in rats. Cycling female Long-Evans rats tested either during diestrus or estrus ate less following 6.25 microg/kg LPS than did intact males. Following 12.5 microg/kg LPS, females in estrus ate less than either females during diestrus or males. Similarly, a more pronounced anorexia occurred following 12.5, 25, and 50 microg/kg LPS in ovariectomized females that received cyclic estradiol treatment and were tested on the day modeling estrus than in untreated ovariectomized rats. LPS also increased the length of the rats' ovarian cycles, usually by a day, especially when injected during diestrus. As in male rats, when LPS injections were repeated in the same rats, both estradiol-treated and untreated rats failed to display any significant anorexia. The inhibitory effects of LPS on eating in intact and ovariectomized rats were expressed solely as decreases in spontaneous meal frequency, without significant alteration of spontaneous meal size. These data indicate that anorexia following peripheral LPS administration is sexually differentiated and that estradiol is sufficient to produce this response. The mechanism of the pathophysiological effect of estradiol on meal frequency appears to be different from the physiological effect of estradiol on food intake because the latter is expressed solely as a change in meal size.     

Complexing of bacterial lipopolysaccharide with lung surfactant.

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) from Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, or Pseudomonas aeruginosa were mixed with pulmonary surfactant to investigate their in vitro interaction. After 6 h of incubation at 37 degrees C, LPS-surfactant mixtures were examined by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. The E. coli LPS-surfactant mixture was examined by immunoelectron microscopy with protein A-colloidal gold. The binding that occurred between LPS and the surfactant vesicles resulted in a complex with a density higher than the density of the surfactant alone. The protein A-colloidal gold identified LPS in the LPS-surfactant complexes. The toxicity of E. coli LPS was enhanced by complexing with the surfactant when compared with the intraperitoneal injection into CF1 mice, even at a 64:1 ratio of surfactant to LPS. The complexing of LPS and surfactant in the lung may alter the physiologic properties of surfactant that contribute to the physiopathological changes observed with some types of pneumonia.     

Local skin response in mice induced by a single intradermal injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide and lipid A.

Dermal inflammation and hemorrhagic necrosis induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lipid A were studied in mice. In ddY mice, a single intradermal injection of Salmonella typhimurium S-form LPS and lipid A into the abdominal dermis elicited an edematous change due to an increase in local vascular permeability 12 h postinjection, followed by hemorrhagic necrosis from 24 to 72 h. This skin reaction was also induced in a dose-dependent manner by S-form LPS, R-mutant LPS, and lipid A of S. typhimurium and Escherichia coli, but not by polysaccharide from Salmonella S-form LPS. The dermal inflammation-inducing activities of LPS and lipid A were roughly in the following order (from highest to lowest): Re-form LPS, Rc-form LPS and lipid A, Ra-form LPS, and S-form LPS. These results suggest that the lipid A portion of the LPS molecule is responsible for the skin reaction. In C3H/HeN mice, Re-form LPS and lipid A induced the same intensity of skin reaction as that in ddY mice. In C3H/HeJ mice, which have a low response to LPS, Re-LPS and lipid A did not induce any hemorrhagic response but showed a distinct edematous change. Although hemorrhagic necrosis and edematous changes could be explained by quantitative differences in skin lesions, the other possible explanation is that hemorrhagic necrosis and the increase in local vascular permeability are induced by different mechanisms, only one of which depends on the regulation of the lps gene.     

Cellular origin of interferon induced by bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces interferons with different properties in mouse macrophages and B lymphocytes. Macrophage interferon is labile at 56 degrees C and is neutralized by anti-mouse fibroblast interferon at a dilution of 1:6,142. B cell interferon is more heat stable and is neutralized by the same antiserum only at a dilution of 1:276. Serum obtained early (1 h) after an intravenous injection of 100 mug of LPS resembled macrophage interferon, whereas serum obtained at later times resembled more and more B cell interferon. The diverse cellular origin of LPS-induced interferon may explain the broad hyporesponsiveness produced by LPS in animals.     

Separation of the mitogenic and antigenic responses to bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

An attempt was made to separate the antigenic and mitogenic properties of E. coli bacteria and bacterial lipopolysaccharide antigen inhibited the mitogenic response by the cultures but did not inhibit the induction of anti-LPS antibody or polyclonal antibody synthesis to SRBC. Dextran sulphate, acting as a B-cell mitogen, increased the mitogenic response in spleen cell cultures incubated with bacteria, but did not affect the production of anti-LPS antibody. Mild alkaline hydrolysis (0-1 N NaOH at 56 degrees) of LPS destroyed the mitogenic properties of the molecule, leaving the antigenic properties qualitatively intact. Harsher conditions of base hydrolysis destroyed both the mitogenic and antigenic properties of LPS, as determined by antigenicity in murine spleen cell cultures and haemagglutination inhibition tests.     

Influence of subcutaneous injection site on the steady-state pharmacokinetics of enfuvirtide (T-20) in HIV-1-infected patients.

BACKGROUND: Enfuvirtide is the first in a new class of antiretrovirals (ARVs), the fusion inhibitors, and the first ARV to be administered by subcutaneous (s.c.) injection. OBJECTIVES: The primary objective of this study was to determine the steady-state pharmacokinetics and relative bioavailability of enfuvirtide following sc injection at three separate anatomical sites: abdomen (A), thigh (B) and arm (C). STUDY DESIGN: A single-center, open-label, multiple-dose, three-way randomized, crossover study. Twelve HIV-1-infected adults were recruited from three ongoing Phase II enfuvirtide clinical trials and randomized into three groups. Each group continued to receive s.c. injection of enfuvirtide, at a dose of 90 mg twice daily (bid), according to one of three treatment sequences: ABC, BCA or CAB; over three consecutive periods of approximately 7 days each. Plasma concentrations of enfuvirtide and its metabolite (Ro 50-6343) were measured using a validated liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry method. RESULTS: The relative bioavailability of enfuvirtide, based on AUC12h and abdomen as a reference site, was 101% for thigh and 117% for arm. The AUC12h of Ro 50-6343 ranged from 14 to 16% of that for enfuvirtide. Although injection site reactions (ISRs) were common, the overall grading (based on pain or discomfort) of all reported ISRs was Grade 1 (mild). The incidence of ISRs varied according to the site of injection, as did the signs and symptoms associated with them. No patient required treatment for an ISR. CONCLUSIONS: Comparability among the three injection sites, in terms of both absorption and the ISR profile, allows HIV-1-infected patients the freedom to choose and to rotate, if necessary, the site of enfuvirtide injection among the three anatomical sites.     

Action of bacterial lipopolysaccharide on the respiration of mouse liver mitochondria.

Escherichia coli O127:B8 lipopolysaccharide (LPS) inhibited oxygen consumption by isolated mouse liver mitochondria at 10 micrograms of LPS per mg of protein when glutamate + malate was the substrate and adenosine 5'-diphosphate had been added (state 3 respiration), but had little effect when adenosine 5'-diphosphate was not added (state 4 respiration). LPS stimulated state 4 respiration at 10 micrograms/mg of mitochondrial protein when succinate was the substrate but had little effect on state 3 respiration. Lipid A from Shigella sonnei at 2 micrograms/mg of mitochondrial protein also stimulated state 4 respiration but did not affect state 3 respiration with succinate as the substrate. Lipid A, unlike LPS, caused a decrease in the adenosine 5'-diphosphate/O ratio. LPS at 100 micrograms/mg of mitochondrial protein impaired the reduction of cytochromes aa3, c, and b when succinate was the substrate but not when reduced nicotinamide dinucleotide, dithionite, or glutamate was the substrate.     

Monoclonal antibody against bacterial lipopolysaccharide cross-reacts with DNA-histone.

Monoclonal antibodies to bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) were prepared by fusing spleen cells from BALB/c mice immunized with Salmonella Minnesota Re 595 LPS to the mouse myeloma cell line P3U1. One of them, designated RS01, revealed a strong positive antinuclear activity and reacted with DNA-histone. RS01 also bound specifically to Salmonella Minnesota Re 595 LPS and eliminated the biological activity of LPS. The Salmonella completely inhibited the ANA activity of RS01 and DNA-histone blocked the reactivity of RS01 with LPS. Thus, it is clear that an anti-LPS monoclonal antibody, RS01 cross-reacts with DNA-histone.     

Aluminium and injection site reactions.

AIMS: To alert pathologists to the spectrum of histological appearances that may be seen in injection site reactions related to aluminium. METHODS: Four cases of injection site reaction were examined microscopically using routine staining with haematoxylin and eosin, electron microscopy and by electron probe microanalysis. RESULTS: As in previous reports, all four cases included collections of histiocytes which contained faint granular brownish refractile material within their cytoplasm; ultrastructural examination showed this to be aluminium. Two cases showed a prominent inflammatory reaction with numerous lymphoid follicles and a notable eosinophilic infiltrate. Two cases showed unusual features not described previously. In one, there was a sclerosing lipogranuloma-like reaction with unlined cystic spaces containing crystalline material. The other case presented as a large symptomatic subcutaneous swelling which microscopically showed diffuse and wide-spread involvement of the subcutis by a lymphoid infiltrate with prominent lymphoid follicles. CONCLUSIONS: This report highlights the changes encountered in aluminium injection site reactions and emphasises that the lesions have a wider range of histological appearances than described previously.     

Uptake and subcellular localization of bacterial lipopolysaccharide in the adrenal gland.

For determination of the kinetics of uptake and subcellular localization of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from LPS-high density lipoprotein (LPS-HDL) complexes in the adrenal gland, LPS-HDL complexes were isolated by immunoaffinity chromatography of 125I-Salmonella minnesota Re595 LPS that had been incubated with 20 mM EDTA-rabbit plasma. After intravenous injection of LPS-HDL complexes in rabbits, preferential uptake of the LPS was observed in the adrenal, so that by 5 hours, adrenal-tissue-bound LPS concentrations (determined by use of 131I-BSA blood marker) exceeded all other tissues examined, including liver and spleen, by at least three-fold. For determination of the subcellular localization of LPS, cholesterol-rich (lipid droplet) fractions and cholesterol-depleted fractions were obtained by ultracentrifugation of homogenates of adrenal tissue from rabbits killed at various times after injection of LPS-HDL complexes. As much as 40% of the adrenal-tissue-bound LPS was recovered in the cholesterol-rich fraction 2.5-24 hours after injection of LPS-HDL complexes. Electron-microscopic autoradiographic and immunocytochemical analysis of adrenal cortex of animals killed 5 hours after injection of LPS-HDL complexes demonstrated specific localization of LPS in lipid droplets. These data thus provide direct evidence for the uptake of LPS into the adrenal cortex of animals with intravascular LPS-HDL complexes and indicate that further study of the effect of LPS on adrenocortical function is warranted.     

Deacylation of bacterial lipopolysaccharide in rat hepatocytes in vitro.

The possible role of liver parenchymal cells in the uptake and degradation of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) was investigated in vitro by employing radiolabelled LPS as substrate. Hepatocytes obtained from Wistar rats by collagenase treatment were found to take up LPS only when it was not linked to the polysaccharide of O-antigen. The amount of LPS taken up increased with time and after 48 h incubation it increased in a dose-dependent manner up to at least 30 micrograms. When incubated with LPS radiolabelled exclusively in the fatty-acid moiety, cultured hepatocytes released lipophilic materials into the culture medium. These were identified as beta-hydroxytetradecanoic acid and triglyceride, in the ratio of 7:I. These results indicate that the R-form of LPS which lacks the O-antigen polysaccharide is taken up and deacylated in hepatocytes, and the derived fatty acids are released into the culture medium either in the free form or after conversion to triglyceride.     

Biosynthetic radiolabeling of bacterial lipopolysaccharide to high specific activity.

We describe a method for producing radiolabeled lipopolysaccharide (LPS) by incorporating [3H]acetate into an aceEF, gltA strain of Escherichia coli K12. The LPS has substantially greater specific radioactivity (2 microCi per microgram LPS, or approximately 8 Ci/mmol) than has been reported previously for biosynthetically radiolabeled LPS. The 3H is incorporated into the fatty acyl chains of the lipid A moiety. LPS prepared by this method has several attractive features for biological studies, including native structure and bioactivity, long radioactive half-life, and high specific activity.     

Regulation of the immune response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide by adherent cells.

Immune response to bacterial lipopolysaccharide is usually short lived, but it often reappears without additional stimulus in a cyclic fashion. Activated adherent cells, presumably macrophages, were found to have a role in the reduction of the immune response to Escherichia coli O127 lipopolysaccharide. The suppressive activity of the adherent cells was abrogated before renewal of the responsiveness.     

Use of o-phthalaldehyde to detect O-phosphorylethanolamine in bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

We have developed a method to measure O-phosphorylethanolamine groups in bacterial lipopolysaccharide using a fluorescent reagent, o-phthalaldehyde. The optimal excitation and emission wavelengths were 335 nm and 450 nm, respectively. The reaction was pH-dependent with an optimum at pH 10.5. The maximum fluorescence intensity occurred two min after mixing lipopolysaccharide with the reagent at pH 10.5. The assay was linear over a range of 1 microgram to 100 micrograms of lipopolysaccharide. When we compared the amount of primary amine (as O-phosphorylethanolamine) in native and p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid-derivatized lipopolysaccharide, we found that 97% of amine groups in native lipopolysaccharide were derivatized by p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid in the presence of 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide.