The role of protein synthesis in the hypothalamic mechanism mediating pyrogen fever

The effects of inhibition of protein synthesis by anisomycin on the pathogenesis of fever and normal thermoregulatory processes were investigated in the conscious and unrestrained cat. Subcutaneous administration of 5.0-25.0 mg/kg of anisomycin prevented the fever normally evoked by an intravenous infusion of either 1.0 ml (10(8) organisms) of a 1:10 dilution of S. typhosa or 1.0-5.0 ml (3.5 x 10(5)-2.1 X 10(7) cells/ml) of endogenous pyrogen. In addition, systemic pre-treatment with anisomycin delayed and/or blocked the fever typically elicited by a direct micro-injection into the anterior hypothalamic, preoptic area (AH/POA) at AP 12.5-16.0 of 1.0 microliters of the endotoxin. Anisomycin did not alter the hyperthermic response to an anterior hypothalamic injection of either 1.0-7.0 micrograms/1.0 microliters of serotonin (5-HT) or 100.0 ng/1.0 microliters of prostaglandin (PGE). Inhibition of protein synthesis, furthermore, did not prevent the fall in body temperature usually produced by an intrahypothalamic micro-injection of 2.33-14.0 micrograms/1.0 microliters of either norepinephrine (NE) or dopamine (DA). The thermoregulatory capacity of the cat was unaffected by the administration of comparable doses of anisomycin, i.e., the animal was able to maintain normal body temperature (+/- 0.5 degrees C) when exposed to an ambient temperature of either 10 degrees C or 34 degrees C. These results strongly suggest that the synthesis of new protein within the region of the AH/POA is a functional requisite for the development of a pyrogen-induced fever.