Effect of Bacterial Endotoxin on Leucocytes of Tuberculin Sensitive Hosts

The Selective Toxicity of Endotoxin for Phagocytic Cells of the Reticuloendothelial System

“…The early degeneration of a small but significant proportion of leucocytes in contact with endotoxin in cultures of spleen and lung was consistent with the recent report by Patnode and Furra of lcucocytolvsis due to endo 7() H c i 1 in a ii . The Selective Toxicity of Kndotoxin toxin (16). In the present study tests were not carried out to com pare the degree of degranulation caused by endotoxin and that resulting from phagocytosis of bacteria and other substances (17,18).…”

Increased in vitro Tuberculin and Endotoxin Leukocytolysis Following Skin Tests with Homologous and Heterologous Substances

“…These results arc of particular interest in view of the fact that mice (4,5) and rabbits (6) infected with an attenuated strain of tubercle bacilli, BCG, show an increased susceptibility to the lethal effects of endotoxin. Recent evidence from several laboratories, including our own, suggests, however, that specific tuberculin hypersensitivity does not correlate with this apparent non-specific hypersusccptibilily to endotoxin, and, moreover, that the latter is not simply an intensification of the normal response to endotoxin (2,(7)(8)(9)(10)(11).…”

“…By this technique it can be shown that a certain percentage of peripheral blood leukocytes from the tuberculin sensitive host arc lysed during a brief exposure to Old Tuberculin or PPD in vitro. Recent studies from our laboratory, using this technique, revealed that blood leukocytes from tuberculin sensitive guinea-pigs and rabbits show an increased susceptibility not only to PPD but to bacterial endo toxin as well (2). Wasserman and Packalen, measuring leukocyte migration in capillary tubes, have reported similar findings (3).…”