Abstract
Lethal enterocolitis was induced in guinea pigs by intramuscular injection of penicillin. The presence of a filterable toxic substance in the cecal contents of penicillin-treated guinea pigs was demonstrated. The toxin was heat-labile and produced enterosorption activity in rabbit intestinal loops and morphologic changes in Y-1 adrenal cell cultures. The cecal filtrates were lethal for mice when injected intraperitoneally and lethal for guinea pigs when injected intraperitoneally or intracecally. Cecal filtrates from saline-treated guinea pigs were not lethal to experimental animals. Filtrates prepared from broth cultures of cecal contents from penicillin or saline-treated guinea pigs also showed the presence of a lethal toxic substance. This study demonstrated that bacteremia is minimal, nonspecific and probably a terminal event in penicillin-associated deaths in guinea pigs.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Laboratory Animal Science |
| Pages | 524-531 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Edition | 3 |
| State | Published - 1980 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Medicine