Cerebrospinal fluid protein profile in experimental pneumococcal meningitis and its alteration by ampicillin and anti-inflammatory agents.

We studied the effects of ampicillin and anti-inflammatory agents on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein patterns in rabbits with meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae. CSF proteins were analyzed in the acute phase of infection and during convalescence by using sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, followed by two types of staining or by immunoblotting. During the acute phase a massive influx of serum albumin into the CSF was accompanied by the appearance of other proteins of high and low molecular weight. In untreated animals and animals given ampicillin alone or together with indomethacin, the abnormal pattern persisted for up to 30 d. Combined treatment with ampicillin and dexamethasone or oxindanac, a new nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, partially prevented the alterations in CSF protein patterns. Reversion to normal CSF protein patterns was fastest in these two groups.