Effect of endotoxin-induced shock on the reticuloendothelial system. Phagocytic activity and DNA-synthesis of reticuloendothelial cells following endotoxin treatment.

There was a marked decrease in the RES phagocytic activity during the first 12 hours after injection of high concentrations of endotoxin in rats. Phagocytic activity then increased considerably, reaching maximum values on days 3 to 5 and it was still higher than in control animals 20 days later. Parallel studies on 3H thymidine incorporation showed a significant increase in the rate of DNA-synthesis of reticulum cells of the liver during the 5 days period following endotoxin injection. Peak values were obtained on day 2 when the number of labelled cell were 50 times higher than in the controls. A likely reason for the increased DNA-synthesis is a repair of RES following endotoxin induced damage but it may also represent an endotoxin induced proliferation of reticulum cells that may at least partly account for the enhanced phagocytic activity.