Endotoxin fever in the newborn kitten. The role of prostaglandins and monoamines.

In 5--10 day-old kittens at thermoneutral environmental temperature cerebroventricular injections of 10 microgram serotonin or noradrenaline caused hyperthermia and hypothermia, respectively. Central injections of 20 and 200 ng prostaglandin E1 induced hyperthermia. Monophasic fever followed the cerebroventricular injections of 0.2 or 0.002 microgram E. coli endotoxin, both in thermoneutral and moderately cool environments. In kittens pretreated with para-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA) the endotoxin induced rise in body temperature was attenuated within 60 to 90 min after the endotoxin. Indomethacin pretreatment prevented the first part of the febrile response and only a slight temperature rise occurred after a long latency. Central injections of phentolamine did not modify the fever response, while centrally applied propranolol modified the fever course so that it resembled that seen in PCPA treated kittens. The central mediation of endotoxin fever in the kitten is complex, despite that the pattern of the temperature change is simple (monophasic). Arachidonic acid metabolites and serotonin of the central nervous system may be involved in the reaction, while the activation of central noradrenergic mechanisms does not seem to be indispensable for the response. The changes in mediators are similar to those in newborn guinea pigs, although the fever course is different in the two species.