Effects of endotoxin, interleukin‐1/3 and prostaglandin injections on fever response in broilers

Abstract
1. The effect of endotoxin, interleukin‐1β and prostaglandin on fever response was studied in 80 broilers (Hubbard strain). Endotoxin (E. coli, LPS) was injected iv (1.5 μg/kg) and icv (1.5 μg/bird); interleukin‐1 (human recombinant IL‐1β, 80 pg/bird) and prostaglandin E2 (5 μg/bird) were injected icv. Indomethacin (10 mg/kg, iv) pretreatment was also used before iv endotoxin injection. 2. The results showed that indomethacin was able to block the fever response induced by iv endotoxin injection, and IL‐1β and PGE2 were both effective in producing fever when injected icv. These data suggest a prostaglandin‐mediated fever response by broilers, and also a strong evidence of the involvement of endogenous pyrogen (interleukin‐1) in fever response in birds.