Abstract
Summary
The susceptibility of mice to highly purified preparations of the murine toxin of Y. pestis was decreased significantly when the animals were fasted, or made diabetic, or exposed to an ambient temperature of 37°, or injected with glucagon, dibutryl cyclic AMP, or cortisone. In contrast, the lethality of toxin was significantly increased in mice that received a high carbohydrate fat-free diet and that were exposed to temperatures of 5 or 17°. In contrast to controls, epinephrine was unable to elicit hy-perglycemia or increase the plasma level of free fatty acid in animals challenged with the toxin. These results support a mode of action in vivo based on hypothermia as a primary determinant of lethality.
David E. Wennerstrom, a predoctoral trainee, was supported by Public Health Service Grant No. TO 1-AI00435 from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease.
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