Prostaglandins as possible mediators of fever genesis in man

Prostaglandin concentrations of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 38 febrile patients (from infants up to adults) were compared with those of 19 afebrile adult control persons. CSF samples were extracted and the prostaglandins groups of the extract separated by column chromatography. Concentrations of prostaglandins of the E and F series were estimated by radioimmunoassay. In CSF of all feverish patients with meningitis, pneumonia, or pyelonephritis about 2-fold higher concentrations of prostaglandin E (PGE) were found that in those of the afebrile control persons. In contrast, concentrations of prostaglandin F (PGF) in adults and infants remained largely unchanged during fever; Solely, in 4 of the 8 babies examined, concentrations of PGF were also increased besides those of PGE. Repeated estimations of prostaglandin concentrations in CSF from the same patients showed, that concentrations of PGE, which had been elevated during fever, normalized after defervescence. The height of fever and the concentrations of PGE in CSF tended to correlate in a dose related manner. In correspondence with the results of animal experiments prostaglandins of the E series seem to act as mediators of fever during infectious diseases also in man.