Effects of Sodium Acetylsalicylate on the Release of Pyrogen from Leukocytes 1

Abstract

Summary

The effects of sodium acetylsalicylate on the release of pyrogen from peritoneal exudate cells were studied in vitro by incubation of the cells in solutions of sodium acetylsalicylate that varied in amounts from 2 to 20 mM. The ability of the leukocytes to release pyrogen, as reflected by the fever index of rabbits, was not altered by sodium acetylsalicylate. The antipyretic action of sodium acetylsalicylate is not due to inhibition of release of leukocytic pyrogen. Our accumulated evidence indicates that acetylsalicylate has a central locus of antipyretic action, most likely in the preoptic/anterior hypothalamus.