Lipoxygenase products in experimental septic arthritis in dogs.

Induction of an experimental septic arthritis was performed in the juvenile dog knee by an intra-articular injection with Staphylococcus aureus. From plasma, lipoxygenase (LO) products of arachidonic acid were separated by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) after extraction of lipids. The plasma samples did not contain UV-detectable amounts of LO products other than the LTB4 metabolite 20-COOH-LTB4, and 12-HETE. Small amounts of chemokinetically active material were found coeluting with the eluate fraction of 20-COOH-LTB4, LTB4 and 12-HETE after RP-HPLC. After 48 hours of septic arthritis, resulting in a massive acute joint inflammation, no significant changes in LO products were observed.