Effect of newer quinolones on the extra- and intra-cellular chemiluminescence response of human polymorphonuclear leucocytes.

The direct effect of four quinolones on the intracellular production and extracellular release of reactive oxygen species was investigated in vitro using a chemiluminescence (CL) assay. Polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNs) were obtained from healthy volunteers and exposed for 10 min at 37 degrees C to 1.6, 6.25 and 25 mg/L ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, sparfloxacin and temafloxacin. The luminol-dependent CL response of the PMNs was then measured for 30 min following stimulation with nonopsonized zymosan or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). The intracellular CL response was also measured for 30 min during phagocytosis of lumispheres. The integrated CL was calculated and compared for cells which were incubated with the antibiotic and unincubated controls. Preincubation with ofloxacin resulted in increased zymosan and PMA-induced, luminol-dependent CL. Similar increases were observed for ciprofloxacin except that 25 mg/L decreased the PMA-induced, luminol dependent CL. Preexposure to ofloxacin and ciprofloxacin did not affect lumisphere-induced CL significantly, although there was a tendency for this to decrease after exposure to ciprofloxacin. In contrast sparfloxacin and temafloxacin caused progressive decreases in zymosan and PMA-induced, luminol-dependent PMN CL which reached statistical significance at the higher concentrations. The same pattern was observed in the experiments using lumispheres. These findings indicate that these quinolones modulate the oxygen metabolism of PMNs and that this effect varies with the individual drug.