INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE ON THE EFFECTS OF ENTEROTOXIN AND ENDOTOXIN IN MICE.

Abstract

For optimum health, the host must control the proliferation of endogenous bacteria and neutralize harmful toxins. Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB) produced by gram-positive bacteria and lipopolysaccharide endotoxin (LPS) produced by certain gram-negative bacteria can exert synergistic effects when injected into homothermic animals (mice). In both acclimatized and nonacclimatized animals, exposure to temperature extremes of 4 deg C or 35 deg C-- except in one instance--either hastens or increases death in the presence of SEB and LPS when compared to room temperature (24 deg C). This research determines experimentally that ambient temperature is a meaningful variable in the resistance or susceptibility of a mammal to certain common bacterial toxins.