Abstract
Endotoxins of Gram-negative bacteria elicit biphasic fever, leukopenia, increased hypocalcemia, PGF(2α) release, and blood-circulation shock in the mammalian body (Fredriksson 1984). The toxicity of a given endotoxin decreases after repeated endotoxin administration. This tolerance appears to arise through both non-immunological regulatory and immunological pathways. This first phase of tolerance exhibits no inter-endotoxin specificity, and appears to be caused by the lipid A portion of the endotoxin molecule. The later phase of tolerance, however, is endotoxin specific and is probably in part evoked by an immunological tolerance to the O-antigen polysaccharide chain of the endotoxin (Lindberg et al 1983). The purpose of this project was to investigate the clinical and endocrine response to repeated daily administration of endotoxin in pigs.