Toxin-specific ultrastructural alterations of the mouse liver after burn injuries and the possibility of a specific antitoxic therapy.

Electron-microscopic studies in mice revealed similar and comparable mitochondrial alterations of the liver cells 5-7 days after either a sublethal controlled burn injury or an i.p. injection of an equivalent dose of a burn toxin. Electron microscopy 5 days after i.p. application of different amounts of the burn toxin in rats showed that the extent of the liver alterations correlates directly to the applied dose (occurrence of: cristolysis--intramitochondrial vacuolization--total vacuolar changes of mitochondria(. Controls with the non-toxic/"native" compound isolated from normal skin or excision of a skin piece identical in size to the sublethal burn showed no ultrastructural changes in the liver of mice or rats. In a 2nd series of experiments the therapeutic effect of an antitoxic IgG raised in sheep was tested. The first 3 days after a standard burn or an i.p. injection of 15 mg burn toxin mice obtained 10 mg of the antitoxic IgG (2x/day). Controls injected with the "native" compound or excised as described were treated in the same way. The results showed a specific complete immunological protection from mitochondrial alterations by either the toxin or the burn injury. These results suggest the possibility of an antitoxic IgG-therapy in severe burns.