Effects of Fluid Treatment in a B. Anthracis Lethal Toxin Challenged Rat Model

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Shock resistant to conventional treatment with fluid and vasopressors was common in nonsurvivors in the recent outbreak of B. anthracis infection in the US. In prior studies, although blood pressure was reduced similarly with lethal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and Bacillus anthracis lethal toxin (LeTx) challenges, plasma cytokine and nitric oxide levels, while increased with LPS were not with LeTx. This and other data suggests that the pathogenesis of shock with LeTx may differ from the types of bacterial toxin commonly encountered in patients with sepsis and septic shock. Whether the response of LeTx shock to conventional hemodynamic support differs as well should be considered. We have now extended these studies and are presently comparing the effects vasopressor treatment with norepinephrine in animals challenged with LeTx versus LPS. In these studies we found that while norepinephrine does increase blood pressure with both LPS and LeTx, it improves survival with the former but not the latter toxin. Of note in these studies endogenous catecholamines, nitric oxide, and inflammatory cytokines, while markedly elevated with LPS challenge, were with LeTx. Once again therefore, a conventional hemodynamic treatment which has the expected beneficial effects with LPS challenge, does not with LeTx. Overall however the present findings raise questions regarding the effectiveness of conventional hemodynamic support for LeTx associated shock. Since this toxin plays a key role in shock during B. anthracis better defining the role of these treatments during live bacterial infection may be important.