Endotoxic activity in faeces of mice from different microbiological environments
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S Kawamura1, K Hirayama, M Mishima
1Department of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tokyo.
Abstract:
Chromogenic Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) tests were evaluated for measuring endotoxic activity in faeces of mice from different microbiological environments. Faeces of BALB/c mice from germ-free (GF), specific-pathogen-free (SPF) and conventional (CV) colonies had no inhibitory activity on the test reaction. GF and SPF faeces had heat-labile non-specific amidase activity which gave false-positive reaction, while CV did not. GF faeces had a heat-stable non-endotoxic effect on the LAL system. Average endotoxin levels in faeces of GF, SPF and CV mice were 0.2, 0.8 and 17 to 24 micrograms/g wet weight, respectively. Results suggest that the microbiological status of mice influences not only the faecal endotoxin level but also the specificity of the test reaction.