Endotoxin activity in whole blood measured by neutrophil chemiluminescence is applicable to canine whole blood

The dog is widely used as a translational experimental model studying the host response and new treatments for human endotoxemia. The present study evaluated the applicability of a novel patient-near neutrophil chemiluminescence assay for the measurement of endotoxin activity in human blood when applied to canine blood samples. The assay was observed to be analytically sensitive and specific to endotoxin when tested in vitro, spiked with purified Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide and live E. coli. The diagnostic sensitivity was sustained during Gram-positive contamination. Finally, it also demonstrated diagnostic potential when able to discriminate dogs with spontaneously occurring endotoxemia from both healthy dogs and diseased dogs without endotoxemia. The rapid patient-near assessment of endotoxin activity in canine blood should facilitate future studies on endotoxemia in both spontaneous disease and in experimental settings.