Results:
Incremental increases in doses of bacteria resulted in 				proportional increases in 72h mortality rates (0, 20, 70, and 100%) as well as 				increases in serum total immunoreactive calcitonin (iCT) levels at 12 h (250, 				380, 1960, and 4020 pg/ml, respectively, vs control levels of 21 pg/ml). 				Gel filtration studies revealed that ProCT was the predominant (> 90%) 				molecular form of serum iCT secreted. In the metabolic experiments, total iCT 				peaked at 12 h concurrent with the maximal decrease in serum calcium.