Experimental nephropathy induced in the rabbit by immunization with a lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli

Twenty rabbits were each injected with 100 microgram of lipopolysaccharide from Escherichia coli 055 at weekly intervals for up to 15 months. The antisera showed an immunologic cross-reactivity with rabbit kidney glycoprotein. A macroscopic nephropathy was present in 14 of the 17 rabbits in which the kidneys were examined. All the rabbits showed extensive histologic lesions involving all the structures of the kidney: organized thrombosis of the arteries, extensive areas of infarction, glomerular atrophy, tubular necrosis and proliferation of young connective tissue. A marked infiltration with lymphoid cells and some plasmacytes was present. The immunologic character of this nephropathy and the immunopathogenic mechanism involved in its pathogenesis are discussed.