Effects of bilateral subdiaphragmatic vagotomy on food intake and expression of cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA in cerebral vessels in rats intraperitoneally injected with bacterial lipopolysaccharide were studied using in situ hybridization technique. Low doses of lipopolysaccharide decreased food intake in sham-operated animals, but did not affect this parameter in vagotomized rats. Comparison of hybridization signals in brain slices showed that low doses of endotoxin did not affect expression of cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA in vessels of control and experimental animals. High doses of lipopolysaccharide reduced food intake in vagotomized and sham-operated rats and elevated cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA expression in vascular endothelial cells of the brain parenchyma and meninges. The data suggest that the vagus nerve activates central structures responsible for manifestation of anorexia after intraperitoneal injection of low doses of lipopolysaccharide. High doses of endotoxin activate the vagus-independent mechanism of cyclooxygenase-2 synthesis in the endothelium of cerebral vessels. It is assumed that prostaglandins synthesized by cyclooxygenase-2 diffuse into the brain parenchyma and cause anorexia by activating target nerve structures.