Studies on the mechanism of penicillin-induced fever.

Rabbits immunized to benzylpenicillin G responded with fever when challenged with a penicillin-serum protein conjugate, but not with penicillin itself. After one or two challenges with conjugate, the rabbits became unresponsive (tolerant) to further injections. This form of hypersensitivity was transferable with plasma of immunized donors to normal rabbits. Blood leukocytes of immunized rabbits incubated with penicillin-protein conjugate and hypersensitive serum released endogenous pyrogen in vitro. Spleen cells from the same animals, on the other hand, were inactive when incubated with this antigen in vitro. These experiments appear to be the first to demonstrate in vitro a possible mechanism of drug-induced fever.