Effects of Intravenously Administered Poly-D L-lysine in Rats

Summary Poly-D L-lysine was administered intravenously to rats. Lethal doses of 1.5-2 mg per 100 g body weight caused a disturbance in thrombin formation, pulmonary and cardiac edema and death within 12 minutes. The high dose of 8 mg polylysine per 100 g body weight caused red cell agglutination and prolonged clotting time. Sublethal doses also caused a disturbance in thrombin formation, slight hemolysis and reticulocytosis, and transitory symptoms of respiratory distress. Heparin and synthetic poly-L-aspartic acid were antagonistic to polylysine and prevented death of polylysine-treated rats, hemolysis and coagulation disturbance. These effects in vivo corroborated the observations on the biological action of polylysine in vitro.