A persistent pulmonary artery hypertension, increased airways resistance, increased vascular permeability to protein, and hypoxia are characteristic of sepsis-induced ARDS in humans and are present in the late phase injury response seen in sheep after endotoxin. Our purpose was to determine the role of serotonin, 5-HT, in the steady-state pulmonary hypertension and decreased arterial oxygen tension seen beginning approximately 3 h after Escherichia coli endotoxin injury (2 micrograms/kg) in the adult sheep. Plasma 5-HT levels remained constant, whereas lung lymph values increased from a baseline of 60 +/- 40 to 180 +/- 70 and 270 +/- 90 ng/ml at 1-h and at 3- to 5-h periods, respectively, after endotoxin. Platelet count decreased significantly only at the 3-h time period. Ketanserin, a 5-HT antagonist, was infused (0.15 mg/kg/h) in 7 sheep during endotoxin injury. The degree of early pulmonary hypertension and hypoxia was not affected by ketanserin. Mean values for pulmonary artery pressure and arterial oxygen tension were 40 +/- 8 mmHg and 70 +/- 8 torr for endotoxin alone and 38 +/- 7 mmHg and 72 +/- 7 torr for the ketanserin group. Steady-state, protein-rich pulmonary perfusion was also not altered, being increased 3-fold in both groups. Pulmonary hypertension and hypoxia were significantly attenuated, however, at the 3- to 5-h period with ketanserin, compared with endotoxin alone, the pulmonary artery pressure decreasing from 29 +/- 5 to 22 +/- 4 mmHg and the PaO2 increasing from 75 +/- 4 to 83 +/- 5 torr.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)