Experimental immunology
Effects of chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin on the selected functions of rabbit phagocytic cells

Chloramphenicol and ciprofloxacin belong to the antimicrobials used in veterinary medicine for, among others, rabbit otitis, respiratory or skin diseases treatment. Chloramphenicol binds to the 50S subunit of the ribosome, inhibiting thereby bacterial protein synthesis, however it is known to disturb also mammalian mitochondrial protein synthesis. Ciprofloxacin belongs to fluoroquinolones, which are able to accumulate inside the phagocytic cells, reaching far more higher intra- than extracellular concentrations. Our aim was to compare the influence of the drugs on the basic functions of phagocytic cells isolated from rabbit blood.
The study was carried out in vitro with pure, water soluble chloramphenicol (Sigma) and pure ciprofloxacin (Polfa, Grodzisk) at the concentrations of 5, 10, 30 µg/ml. The blood was obtained from the marginal ear vein and the polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) were isolated by gradient centrifugation. The cells were incubated for 24 h at the presence of the drugs. Then the following parameters were assessed: PMN viability by quantitation of the ATP present, signaling the presence of metabolically active cells, PMN cell ability to zymozan particles phagocytosis and their metabolic activity determined by nitrotetrazolium blue (NBT) reduction after phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) stimulation. Both antibiotics exhibited modulatory effects on the two last parameters.