Some physiological and biochemical effects of a Coxiella burneti lipopolysaccharide preparation on guinea pigs.

A lipopolysaccharide obtained in a dialyzed phenol extract from the rickettsia Coxiella burneti produced the following effects in guinea pigs after intraperitoneal injection: hyperthermia, loss of body weight, increased liver weight and concomitant lipid infiltration, elevated levels of hepatic and plasma cortisol, increased incorporation of [(3)H]orotic acid into hepatic 28S and 18S ribosomal ribonucleic acid, increased incorporation of (14)C-labeled amino acids into liver and plasma protein, and leukocytosis. Most of these events also occur during infection of guinea pigs with C. burneti, and a causal relationship between the rickettsial lipopolysaccharide and the biochemical changes that occur during Q fever is suggested.