ENHANCED CHEMILUMINESCENCE RESPONSE OF POLYMORPHONUCLEAR LEUKOCYTES BY NEW QUINOLONE ANTIMICROBIALS

Some of the many antimicrobial agents (beta-lactams, macrolides, amino glycosides, tetracyclines, new quinolones; NQs) were reported to have a bactericidal or bacteriostatic effect cooperating with host defense mechanisms including polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). We investig ated the effect of new quinolone antimicrobials on chemiluminescence ( CL) response of human PMNs. Among many NQs, we chose ofloxacin, lomefl oxacin, fleroxacin, sparfloxacin, AM-1155, NM-394, Q-35, Y-26611 and T -3761. Twenty-five or 100 mu g/ml of fleroxacin and ofloxacin enhanced luminol-dependent CL response of PMNs up to 1.5-2.0 times compared to the drug free condition. Other antimicrobial agents, however, inhibit ed CL response. This suggested that fleroxacin and ofloxacin were more efficient in the treatment of bacterial infections with respect to th e interaction between antimicrobials and PMNs.