Intravascular Clearance of Endotoxin in Warfarin—Treated Rabbits

Abstract

The intravascular clearance of intravenously administered endotoxin prior to and after administration of immune serum has been compared in untreated rabbits and in rabbits pretreated with warfarin sodium for 4 and 66 days, respectively. Firstly, the present observations show that the phagocytic rate of endotoxin without immune serum is significantly higher in rabbits exposed to “short‐term” warfarin pretreatment than in those exposed to “long‐term” pretreatment and in untreated rabbits. The “long‐term” warfarin treatment is supposed to depress the function of the reticuloendothelial system, particularly in the liver. Secondly, the phagocytic rate of endotoxin increases significantly following the administration of immune serum, which almost completely abolishes the difference between the phagocytic rates of the groups prior to administration. Administration of immune serum seems to decrease the uptake of endotoxin in some organs or provoke an immediate redistribution of the endotoxin between the organs. The warfarin pretreatment influences the relative weight of the liver, and the duration of the warfarin pretreatment seems to influence the organ localization of endotoxin.