The acute-phase response to turpentine-induced abscesses in malnourished rats at different environmental temperatures

An assessment was made of the independent effect environmental temperature (13, 21, and 30 degrees C) and either protein deficiency or energy deficiency on the metabolic response of rats that had aseptic abscesses induced by subcutaneous injections of turpentine. Measurements of food intake, alpha 2-macroglobulin (alpha 2-M; a major acute-phase protein in the rat), albumin, and various circulating metabolites were made 48 hours after turpentine injection in animals acclimatized at 13, 21, and 30 degrees C and compared with pair-fed controls. Despite differences in basal circulating albumin concentrations between controls and protein deficient rats (P less than .001), turpentine produced a similar reduction in all groups of animals (approximately 10 g/L), independent of environmental temperature. The alpha 2-M response to turpentine was attenuated in all protein-deficient animals and also in the energy-restricted animals at 13 degrees C. The increase in circulating 3-hydroxybutyrate (BOH) and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentrations, which normally occur with reduced dietary intake, was reduced in the turpentine-injected animals to an extent that depended on prior dietary intake. It is concluded that the metabolic response, particularly the acute-phase protein response, to a standard form of "injury" is affected by protein deficiency and possibly by energy restriction under adverse environmental temperature.