title: Inhibitory action of roxithromycin on tumour necrosis factor-alpha production from mast cells in vitro.
abstract: This study was designed to evaluate the effects of roxithromycin (RXM), a newly synthesized macrolide antibiotic, on cytokine production from mast cells. Mast cells, induced by long-term culture of spleen cells from BALB/c mice, were stimulated with 2.5 micrograms/ml concanavalin A in the presence or absence of various concentrations of RXM. The culture supernatants were obtained 24 h after stimulation. RXM caused a reduction in TNF-alpha levels in culture supernatants in a dose dependent manner and was first detected at a concentration of as little as 0.5 microgram/ml. Metabolized RXM (RU 39001, RU 44981, and RU45179) also suppressed TNF-alpha production in a dose dependent fashion with a minimum concentration of 0.5 microgram/ml. However, metabolized RXM, RU 28111, scarcely affected TNF-alpha production from cultured mast cells. These results strongly suggest that RXM inhibits mast cell function, especially inflammatory cytokine production and may result in favorable modification in inflammatory diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, School of Medicine, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shimane
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asano
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mizutani
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Suzaki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D015575:Roxithromycin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000032:analysis / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D015575:Roxithromycin