Tuberculin Shock in Mice: Relationship Between Systemic Reactions to Tuberculin and Endotoxin and Lack of Correlation Between Tuberculin Shock and Cellular Immunity to Tuberculin

Summary

Systemic reactivity to tuberculin was regularly induced after two injections of living BCG. In contrast, only a small proportion of mice was fatally shocked with PPD after a single iv or ip inoculation of mycobacteria. Single treatments with high doses of bacteria given either ip or into the foot pads together with Freund's adjuvant caused anaphylaxis rather than delayed tuberculin shock upon challenge with PPD.

With regard to the conditions of induction and the time of occurrence there was a strict correlation between systemic hypersensitivity to PPD and sensitivity to endotoxin. In the period of increased sensitivity to endotoxin, PPD shock and endotoxin shock had an identical symptomatology. On the other hand, there was a complete lack of correlation between systemic tuberculin reactivity and manifestations of cell-mediated immunity such as skin reactivity, in vitro transformation of lymphocytes and inhibition of the migration of peritoneal exudate cells. These facts, as well as the demonstration of a small but decisive endotoxin activity in the PPD preparations used in this study, corroborate the view that systemic tuberculin reactivity is fundamentally a nonimmunological phenomenon.