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Updated: Jul 30, 2026

Endotoxin Activity Assay for the Detection of Whole Blood Endotoxemia in Critically Ill Patients
Published on: June 24, 2019
Activated T lymphocytes disappear from circulation during endotoxemia in humans
K S Krabbe1, H Bruunsgaard, J Qvist
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Abstract:
Seventeen volunteers received an intravenous bolus of endotoxin (2 ng/kg of body weight). Endotoxin-induced lymphopenia was constituted mainly by cells with an immature phenotype (CD45RA(+) CD45RO(-)) that were less likely to undergo apoptosis (CD28(+)), whereas cells with the highest rates of disappearance were characterized by an activated phenotype (CD45RA(-) CD45RO(+)) as well as a phenotype linked to apoptosis (CD95(+) CD28(-)). In conclusion, endotoxin-induced lymphopenia reflects the disappearance from the circulation of activated lymphocytes prone to undergo apoptosis.
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