STUDIES ON THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF LEUKOTAXINE

Abstract

Leukotaxine is the crystalline nitrogenous substance recovered from areas of inflammation. Its liberation offers a reasonable explanation for the mechanism of increased capillary permeability and leukocytic migration in areas of injury. When introduced into the circulating blood stream it fails to induce a sustained fall in blood pressure. In moderate or large conc. it tends to produce either no change or only a transient and practically negligible fall in vascular tension. This effect is in sharp contrast to the progressive and marked drop in level induced by similar concs. of histamine. Observations on the heart rate of frogs indicate that leukotaxine probably bears no relation to adenylic compounds. There is no evidence that leukotaxine is related to acetylcholine.