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. 1970 Aug 1;132(2):300–316. doi: 10.1084/jem.132.2.300

HOST DEFENSE AGAINST BACTERIAL ENDOTOXEMIA: MECHANISM IN NORMAL ANIMALS

Robert C Skarnes 1
PMCID: PMC2138734  PMID: 4994446

Abstract

The present study defines the early response of normal rabbits to the intravenous injection of a single, sublethal dose of endotoxin. Within the first few hours following endotoxin there occurs in the circulating plasma of recipients a decrease in ionized calcium, a threefold increase in the heat-stable, organo-phosphate-resistant esterase level, and a striking increase in the endotoxin-detoxifying capacity. These results are fully consistent with the thesis that circulating plasma represents a principal site of detoxification and that plasma esterases of the nonspecific, carboxylic type are of major concern in defense against circulating endotoxins.

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Selected References

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