Hyperlipidemia, fatty liver, and bromsulfo-phthalein retention in rabbits injected intravenously with bacterial endotoxins

Endotoxin derived from Serratia marcescens (Shear's polysaccharide) or Eschrichia coli was injected intravenously into rabbits. A transitory rise in plasma free fatty acids (FFA) occurred from 1 to 3 hr after the injection; the bromsulfophthalein excretion (BSP) test was abnormal from 2 to 24 hr after the injection. In 24 hr there was a 4- to 9-fold increase in the average plasma triglyceride concentration, with a 2- to 3-fold rise in the average serum cholesterol and phospholipid levels. The plasma FFA concentration rose again after a second injection ; serum triglycerides remained elevated or increased still further. Fatty livers were found in 25% of animals given two doses of Shear's polysaccharide and in all animals given two doses of E. coli endotoxin. No direct correlation could be established between the serum lipid levels and the extent and distribution of intravascular thrombosis and necrosis in the lungs, liver, and spleen, or the production of the generalized Shwartzman phenomenon in the kidney. However, there appeared to be a direct correlation between the elevated serum triglyceride levels and the mortality rates of the animals.