IN-VITRO EFFECTS OF CEFODIZIME ON LEUKOCYTE FUNCTIONS AND COLONY FORMATION FROM GRANULOCYTE-MONOCYTE PROGENITORS

Infections in immunocompromised patients are often difficult to treat, even with currently available antimicrobial agents. An understanding of the effects of antibiotic therapy on the host's immune response is therefore important when deciding on the clinical management of such p atients. Antimicrobial agents which lack immunodepressive effects and/ or potentiate the immune response are the goal of current research int o the treatment of infections in immunocompromised patients. The effec ts of cefodizime (1-250 mu g/mL) in vitro on some functional activitie s of leucocytes and on colony formation by granulocyte monocyte progen itors were studied to investigate the effects of the antibiotic on the host's immune response. A marked enhancement in the lymphocyte transf ormation reaction was observed in cells exposed to cefodizime. This ef fect was dose-dependent. Cefodizime had no significant effect on antib ody-dependent cell cytotoxicity or on natural killer cell-mediated cyt otoxicity. The chemotactic activity of neutrophils was not influenced by the presence of cefodizime (P > 0.05). The phagocytic activity of n eutrophils was significantly increased by cefodizime (P > 0.01). Cefod izime significantly stimulated, in a dose-dependent manner, colony for mation by granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (P < 0.01). Results suggest that cefodizime has certain stimulatory effects on immunocompetent ce lls such as enhancing the transformation reaction of lymphocytes, neut rophil phagocytosis and colony formation by granulocyte-monocyte proge nitors. Further studies are required to clarify the mechanisms respons ible for these effects.