Bacterial endotoxins and liver haemorrhage in the oestrogenised chicken

Hepatic steatosis and haemorrhage in oestrogenised chickens were not associated with any increase in the endotoxin content of the plasma. The haemorrhage was not ameliorated by suppressing enteric bacteria with neomycin or exacerbated by the repeated injection of Escherichia coli O111 endotoxin and there were no relevant changes in plasma enzyme activities that are indicators of liver damage. These results therefore do not support the hypothesis that, as in the choline deficient rat, hepatic steatosis impairs the ability of the oestrogenised chicken to dispose of bacterial endotoxins and that these then damage the liver.