ANTIBACTERIAL AGENTS - PHAGOCYTES - NEW CONCEPTS FOR OLD IN IMMUNOMODULATION

The possibility that antibacterial agents, primarily directed against microorganisms, also modify host functions is widely recognized. While a knowledge of these non-antimicrobial effects of antibiotics, someti mes considered as 'side-effects', is necessary to prevent antibiotic-a ssociated toxicity, the development of drugs derived from antibacteria l agents for use in non-infectious diseases (e.g. motilins and antidia betic drugs) is a new field of therapeutic research. Interactions betw een antibacterial drugs and the immune system may contribute to therap eutic efficacy in infectious diseases [1,2]. The immune system itself is a complex pyramid of redundant cellular factors/humoral effectors/m ediators, whose fine regulation is just beginning to be unraveled. Pha gocytes, ubiquitous and multifaceted cells are key components of cellu lar immunity, being involved both in immediate defences against non-se lf targets (pathogens, tumour cells, exogenous molecules, etc.) and in the regulation and triggering of specific immune responses. They are thus, prime targets of immune response modifiers. This review reconsid ers the widely explored problem of interactions between antibacterial agents and phagocytes, focusing on future prospects in both infectious and non-infectious diseases. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V./Internati onal Society of Chemotherapy. All rights reserved.