Fever and survival in aged mice after endotoxin challenge

Male C57BL/6 mice of 12, 19, and 24 months of age received injections of low (25 micrograms 100 g-1 body weight) or high (50 micrograms 100 g-1 body weight) doses of Salmonella typhosa endotoxin and were exposed to ambient temperatures below (24 degrees C) or within (30 degrees C) the thermoneutral zone. Old mice (19 and 24 months) developed initial fevers followed by hypothermia in response to endotoxin challenge at 24 degrees C, irrespective of dose; 12-month-old-mice became hypothermic at 24 degrees C following injection of the high dose of endotoxin only. At 30 degrees C, 12- and 19-month-old mice developed and maintained fever over 4 hr in response to endotoxin compared with the 24-month-old mice who were unable to maintain fevers. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, ambient temperature, and body temperature responses were significant predictors of survival outcome in endotoxin-treated mice; of these, age and ambient temperature had the strongest effects.