The Effect of Penicillin on the Lethal Action of Meningococcal Endotoxin in Experimental Animals

Abstract

Endotoxin from 6 strains of Type I meningococcus and one strain of Type II meningococcus was injd. intraperit. into mice in sufficient amts. to kill most or all of the control mice. Test animals were treated by subcut. injn. of 1000 units of penicillin beginning before and continuing after the endotoxin. In some the endotoxin was mixed with penicillin before injn. In all test animals the overall mortality was 33% as compared with 89% for the controls. Repeated injns. of penicillin caused considerable reduction in mortality. Penicillin protection was even more apparent when graded doses of endotoxin were used. Among 16 rabbits injd. with endotoxin intraven. and penicillin subcut. in doses of 10,000 to 20,000 units every few hrs., 14 survived and 2 died; all of the 10 controls died within 24 hrs.