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Pyrogens

Meaning

Pyrogens are substances that induce fever, acting as fever-producing agents within the body. These can originate externally as exogenous pyrogens, such as bacterial lipopolysaccharides from gram-negative bacteria, or internally as endogenous pyrogens, primarily cytokines released by immune cells, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α).