1991/10/01 by Sabine Bailly, J J Pocidalo, Michel Fay +1 · 1 citation
Immunology and Microbiology · Medicine · #Immune Response and Inflammation #Mycobacterium research and diagnosis #Cytokine Signaling Pathways and Interactions
paper · doi:10.1128/aac.35.10.2016
openalex publication_date 1991/10/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
Antibiotics do not act alone but act in conjunction with the host defense system. In particular, it has been shown that some antibiotics can modify cytokine production. We compared the in vitro effects of three macrolides (roxithromycin, spiramycin, and erythromycin) actively concentrated by leukocytes on interleukin-1 alpha, (IL-1 alpha), IL-1 beta, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor alpha production by human monocytes stimulated with lipopolysaccharide. Our results show that the three macrolides tested have different effects on production of these cytokines. Spiramycin and, to a lesser extent, erythromycin increased total IL-6 production without affecting IL-1 alpha, IL-1 beta, or tumor necrosis factor alpha production, whereas roxithromycin had no effect. To our knowledge, this is the first time that an antibiotic has been shown to increase IL-6 production.