Transcripts
DR. LINGWOOD:
So
they die of HUS symptoms and they also show one
of the other characteristic features of HUS which
is fragmented red cells - hemolytic anemia.
This is from a baboon treated with verotoxin.
They show this, also.
So there's no question that
verotoxin alone can cause HUS. However,
the problem is to set the threshold. This is
a high dose of verotoxin. When you come down
to low doses, then it does not cause HUS. But
if you co-administer the LPS and the low dose
verotoxin to the baboons, they then generate HUS.
So what the cytokines, these
other cytokines do is lower the threshold by
increasing the Gb3 synthesis. We still have to
show that in baboons, but that's more than
likely what has happened, and thereby increase
sensitivity to verotoxin.
So one of the risk factors then
is the degree of infection. If you have a high
infection with a lot of LPS, then you're likely
to have a cytokine response, particularly if
you're elderly.
