The relationship of aging to endotoxin shock and to production of TNF-alpha.
BACKGROUND
Aged people are considered prone to gram-negative bacteremia and septic shock. This relationship was tested in murine endotoxin shock.


METHODS
Balb/c mice of various ages (1.4-13.4 months) were intraperitoneally injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and rates of survival were observed. The production of TNF-alpha in vivo induced by LPS was measured.


RESULTS
The survival rates were the smallest in the oldest and youngest groups. Production of TNF-alpha attained a maximum at 2 h after LPS injection and was smaller in the oldest group; it had a reciprocal relationship to survival rates in each group except the youngest group.


CONCLUSIONS
Old and young mice had smaller rates of survival and greater production of TNF-alpha following endotoxin shock induced by LPS.
Chang
H N
HN
Department of Medicine, Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Wang
S R
SR
Chiang
S C
SC
Teng
W J
WJ
Chen
M L
ML
Tsai
J J
JJ
Huang
D F
DF
Lin
H Y
HY
Tsai
Y Y
YY
D000375:Aging / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000378:metabolism*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000096:biosynthesis*
D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha