Effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide on thermoregulation in green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis)

Fever is a non-specific host defense mechanism that comprises part of the innate immune response. Innate immune function is thought to be an important adaptive immunological response to infection because it occurs across a broad diversity of phyla. Some reptiles can mount a febrile response, despite the fact that their internal body temperatures (T(b)s) are, to some extent, controlled by the environmental temperatures in which they live. This study was undertaken to determine if LPS would induce fever in green anole lizards (Anolis carolinensis). Lizards were maintained in thermal gradients (22-45 degrees C) with a 12-h diurnal cycle. anoles were injected with LPS, pyrogen-free saline, or left untreated, and their T(b)s were recorded every 15min using internal cloacal probes. All lizards showed a diurnal periodicity in T(b) characterized by decreased temperatures during the scotophase (dark hours) and higher temperatures during the photophase (light phase). Anoles injected with LPS exhibited a hypothermic response, relative to untreated and saline-injected animals. The response varied from 2.1 to 4.6 degrees C lower than control lizards. The hypothermic response was initiated within 12-24h of LPS injection, and continued for 3 days after treatment. However, the anapyrexic response was observed primarily during scotophases, with photophase hypothermia observed only on the first day after LPS injection.