The effect of altered carbohydrate metabolism in pertussis-sensitized mice on anaphylaxis

Abstract An attenuated reponse to epinephrine-induced hyperglycemia has been demonstrated in rats injected with Bordetella pertussis alone and in mice sensitized with horse serum or in combination with B. pertussis . This response is not a reflection of reduced liver glycogen. In the mice sensitized with horse serum only, protection against anaphylaxis is afforded by some but not all hyperglycemia-inducing agents tested. Alloxan and epinephrine protect, whereas diazoxide does not. Alloxan was considerably less protective in the horse serum-pertussis-sensitized mouse. Diazoxide, glucose, and epinephrine did not protect. Prednisolone and betamethasone, at doses that protect against lethal anaphylaxis in the horse serum-pertussis-sensitized mouse, also restore epinephrine hyperglycemia in the pertussis rat. Possible mechanisms of protection of these compounds are discussed. No definite link between the carbohydrate abnormality of the pertussis animal and anaphylactic sensitivity has been established.