Promotion of Infection by Intravenously Administered Polysaccharides

Abstract

A VARIETY of polysaccharides shows infection-promoting activity^1–4. Nungester, Wolf and Jourdonais¹ noted that a crude gastric mucin preparation greatly lowered the minimum lethal dose of bacteria when the mucin together with the bacteria was given intraperitoneally, although it did not lower the minimum lethal dose sensibly when the mucin and the bacteria were given intravenously. This observation appears to be the basis of a belief that the infection-promoting activity is conditional upon the injection of the polysaccharide into a serous cavity⁵. The question whether a peritoneal infection can be promoted by a polysaccharide injected into the blood stream does not appear to have been examined critically. Since a number of polysaccharides are of interest as plasma volume expanders, this question might have clinical implications.