Immunomodulatory effects of a low-dose clarithromycin-based macrolide solution pressurised metered dose inhaler

Mehra Haghi, Alessandro Saadat, Bing Zhu, Gaia Colombo, Gregory King, Paul M. Young, Daniela Traini*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Purpose The aim of this study was to assess the effects of low-dose clarithromycin, formulated as solution pressurized metered dose inhaler, following deposition on the Calu-3 respiratory epithelial cells. Methods Clarithromycin was deposited on the air-interface culture of Calu-3 cells using a modified Andersen cascade impactor. Transport of fluorescein-Na, production of mucus and interleukin-8 release from Calu-3 cells following stimulation with transforming growth factor-β and treatment with clarithromycin was investigated. Results The deposition of clarithromycin had significant effect on the permeability of fluorescein-Na, suggesting that the barrier integrity was improved following a short-term treatment with clarithromycin (apparent permeability values were reduced to 3.57×10-9± 2.32×10-9 cm.s-1, compared to 1.14×10-8±4.30×10-8 cm.s-1 for control). Furthermore, the amount of mucus produced was significantly reduced during the course of clarithromycin treatment. The concentration of interleukin-8 secreted from Calu-3 cells following stimulation with transforming growth factor-β resulted in significantly lower level of interleukin-8 released from the cells pre-treated with clarithromycin (5.2±0.5 ng.ml-1 clarithromycin treated vs. 7.7 ±0.8 ng.ml-1 control, respectively). Conclusions Our data demonstrate that treatment with clarithromycin decreases the paracellular permeability of epithelial cells, mucus secretion and interleukin-8 release and therefore, inhaled clarithromycin holds potential as an anti-inflammatory therapy.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)2144-2153
Number of pages10
JournalPharmaceutical Research
Volume32
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jun 2015
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Andersen cascade impactor
  • Calu-3
  • Epithelial transport
  • Mucus

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