Vol.101 No.10 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 101 No. 10 October 2008
The Effect of Gatifloxacin on
IL-8 and TNF-α
in Human Tonsillar Lymphocytes
Masami Kobayashi, Muneki Hotomi, Jun Shimada,
Keiji Fujihara and Noboru Yamanaka
(Wakayama Medical University)
Some antimicrobial agents have been reported to have immunomodulatory effects and to show synergy in their anti-inflammatory effects. To study the immunomodulatory effect of gatifloxacin (GFLX), a fluoroquinolone, we investigated its influence on the production of cytokines in human tonsillar lymphocytes. Erythromycin (EM) was employed as a positive control, having previously been reported as having immunomodulatory effects. Palatine tonsils were obtained from 21 patients, including 9 patients in recurrent tonsillitis (5 males and 4 females, mean 26.7 y. o.), 5 patients with hypertrophic tonsils (3 males and 2 females, mean 6.5 y. o.), and 7 patients with focal tonsillar disorders (1 male and 6 females, mean 42.6 y. o.). Informed consent was obtained from all patients to use their tonsils for this study. The tonsillar lymphocytes were stimulated by Staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB, 100 ng/ml) and were incubated with GFLX (2, 4, 10, or 20 mg/ml) or EM (0.5, 1, 5 mg/ml) for 24 hours. Cytokine production (IL-8 and TNF-a) in the supernatant was measured by solid-phase ELISA. IL-8 production of tonsillar lymphocytes was significantly suppressed by EM in three groups and by GFLX in recurrent tonsillitis groups. TNF-a production of tonsillar lymphocytes was enhanced in the tonsillar hypertrophy group and focal tonsillar disorders group by GFLX; however, no significant influence was shown in tonsillar lymphocytes by EM. In conclusion, GFLX has immunomodulatory effects on tonsillar lymphocytes through the suppression of IL-8 production; in particular, the recurrent tonsillitis group may have shown synergistic anti-inflammatory effect with its anti-bacterial properties.
Key words :gatifloxacin, tonsillar lymphocytes, immunomodulatory effect, IL-8,
TNF-α