Anti-inflammatory effects of antibacterials on human bronchial epithelial cells

Abstract

Abstract Background Human Bronchial epithelial cells (hu-BEC) have been claimed to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of chronic inflammatory airway diseases like COPD. In this context IL-8 and GM-CSF have been shown to be key cytokines. Some antibiotics which are routinely used to treat lower respiratory tract infections have been shown to exert additional immunomodulatory or anti-inflammatory effects. We investigated whether these effects can also be detected in hu-BEC. Methods Hu-BEC obtained from patients undergoing lung resections were transferred to air-liquid-interface (ALI) culture. These cultures were incubated with cefuroxime (CXM, 10-62.5 mg/l), azithromycin (AZM, 0.1-1.5 mg/l), levofloxacin (LVX, 1-8 mg/l) and moxifloxacin (MXF, 1-16 mg/l). The spontaneous and TNF-α (10 ng/ml) induced expression and release of IL-8 and GM-CSF were measured using PCR and ELISA in the absence or presence of these antibiotics. Results The spontaneous IL-8 and GM-CSF release was significantly reduced with MXF (8 mg/l) by 37 ± 20% and 45 ± 31%, respectively (both p Conclusion Using ALI cultures of hu-BEC we observed differential effects of antibiotics on spontaneous and TNF-α induced cytokine release. Our data suggest that MXF and AZM, beyond bactericidal effects, may attenuate the inflammatory process mediated by hu-BEC.