A comparative study of the effects of lipopolysaccharide and poly 1 : C in rats

Abstract

The acute phase response induced by bacterial pyrogens, but not by viral pyrogens, has been thoroughly investigated. Polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) is a synthetic viral pyrogen that is used to simulate viral infection. This dissertation describes how I determined an effective peripheral route and dose of administration of poly I:C to rats. Thereafter I investigated whether poly I:C induced sickness behaviour, and whether repeated administration of poly I:C resulted in the development of tolerance. Intraperitoneal administration of at least 1000μg/kg poly I:C induced fevers in rats, but not sickness behaviour. Unlike repeated administration of LPS, repeated administration of poly I:C in rats did not result in the development of tolerance.