Increased vascular permeability and leucocyte emigration in Escherichia coli endotoxin injury in the chicken skin.

The permeability response was examined in chickens following intradermal injection of Escherichia coli endotoxin. The 'dye' and 'colloidal carbon' techniques were employed. The endotoxin evoked a monophasic response of immediate-prolonged type. The increase in vascular permeability was confined to venules and small veins only, indicating its mediation by endogenous permeability factors. The carbon labelling exhibited arboreal, disjointed and rectangular to hexagonal patterns. Histologically, a striking feature of the reaction was an accumulation of basophils in unusually large numbers. No other type of stimulus appears to induce basophilic response of a similar magnitude in the chicken. The results suggest that endotoxin, being a bacterial product, may exert a chemotactic effect on basophils. Hyperaemia, oedema, necrosis and formation of perivascular lymphoid aggregates were also recognised.