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Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 1999, p. 907-911, Vol. 43, No. 4
0066-4804/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Fourteen-Member Macrolides Inhibit Interleukin-8 Release by Human Eosinophils from Atopic Donors

Tadashi Kohyama, Hajime Takizawa,* Shin Kawasaki, Norihisa Akiyama, Makoto Sato, and Koji Ito

Department of Medicine and Physical Therapy, School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

Received 10 August 1998/Returned for modification 6 January 1999/Accepted 6 February 1999

Macrolide antibiotics such as erythromycin have been reported to be effective for asthma. However, the precise mechanisms of this effect remain unclear. We studied the effect of erythromycin, clarithromycin, josamycin, and other antibiotics on the release by eosinophils of interleukin-8 (IL-8), a potent chemokine for inflammatory cells, including eosinophils themselves. Human eosinophils were isolated from atopic patients, and the effects of the drugs on IL-8 release were evaluated. Only 14-member macrolides (erythromycin and clarithromycin) showed a concentration-dependent suppressive effect on IL-8 release (control, 100%; erythromycin at 1 µg/ml, 67.82% ± 3.45% [P < 0.01]; clarithromycin at 5 µg/ml, 56.81% ± 9.61% [P < 0.01]). The effect was found at therapeutic concentrations and appeared to occur at the posttranscriprtional level. In contrast, a 16-member macrolide (josamycin) had no significant effect. We suggest that 14-member macrolides inhibit IL-8 release by eosinophils and may thereby prevent the autocrine cycle necessary for the recruitment of these cells into the airways.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Medicine & Physical Therapy, University of Tokyo, School of Medicine, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113, Japan. Phone: 3-3815-5411. Fax: 3-3815-5954. E-mail: TAKIZAWA-PHY{at}h.u-tokyo.ac.jp.

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, April 1999, p. 907-911, Vol. 43, No. 4
0066-4804/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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