The effect of antimicrobial agents on leukocyte chemotaxis.

The effects of several chemotherapeutic agents on the chemotaxis of human leukocytes were studied in an in vitro system using a Sykes-Moore chamber and a double-filter technique. Chemotactic factor was generated by the interaction of normal human serum and zymosan. At concentrations comparable to and below therapeutic blood levels, tetracycline HCl, erythromycin base and clindamycin HCl were all inhibitory, causing marked suppression of leukocyte chemotaxis and slight reduction of random migration. Penicillin G-Na, dapsone, and sulfapyridine did not alter white cell motility at the concentrations of drug tested. It is postulated that the capacity of some of these agents to inhibit leukocyte chemotaxis may account, in part, for their efficacy in inflammatory skin diseases such as acne vulgaris.