Use of preformed cavities in rabbits for the quantitation of leukocyte chemotaxis caused by bacterial lipopolysaccharides.

Wound chambers implanted subcutaneously in rabbits proved suitable for measurements of leukocyte chemotaxis. Injection of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the chambers the sixth day after implantation was followed by a marked increase of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the wound chamber fluid, the number of which was dependent on the time after application of LPS. Up to a certain amount of LPS, the concentration of leukocytes in the chamber fluid was dose-dependent. The histopathological appearance of the granulation tissue lining the chamber wall one day after the injection of LPS from Veillonella revealed aggregation of blood cells plugging the lumina of small vessels and many eosinophilic leukocytes.