Comparison of the in vitro effects of amoxicillin and ampicillin on the polymorphonuclear neutrophil respiratory burst.
OBJECTIVE
The aim was to compare the in vitro effects of amoxicillin and ampicillin on the oxidative metabolism of polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs).


METHODS
Superoxide radical anion production by PMNs, stimulated or not by various exogenous stimulants and in contact with increasing antibiotic concentrations, was measured using spectrophotometric methods.


RESULTS
Whereas a pro-oxidative action of amoxicillin on PMNs was obtained without exogenous stimulation or with opsonized zymosan (OZ), the O(2)(-) production by PMNs incubated with ampicillin did not increase significantly.


CONCLUSIONS
This amoxicillin pro-oxidative effect could be due to the activation of the PMN NADPH oxidase, to its induction by a membrane effect or via the OZ pathway. It probably reinforces amoxicillin intrinsic bactericidal action and might partly explain the severe rashes sometimes occurring with amoxicillin treatment.
Reynaert
Marie-Line
ML
Laboratoire de Pharmacologie, Pharmacocinétique et Pharmacie Clinique, Université Lille 2-Faculté de Pharmacie, Lille Cedex, France.
Hochart-Behra
Anne-Cécile
AC
Behra-Miellet
Josette
J
Gressier
Bernard
B
Mine
Louis
L
Dine
Thierry
T
Luyckx
Michel
M
Dubreuil
Luc
L
Brunet
Claude
C
D000658:Amoxicillin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000667:Ampicillin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019255:NADPH Oxidases / Q000378:metabolism; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000187:drug effects*; D016897:Respiratory Burst / Q000187:drug effects*; D013053:Spectrophotometry / Q000379:methods; D013481:Superoxides / Q000378:metabolism
D007155:Immunologic Factors; D013481:Superoxides; D000667:Ampicillin; D000658:Amoxicillin; D019255:NADPH Oxidases