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Updated: Aug 22, 2026

Quantifying the Cytotoxicity of Staphylococcus aureus Against Human Polymorphonuclear Leukocytes
Published on: January 3, 2020
Influence of thiamphenicol on the primary functions of human polymorphonuclear leucocytes against Streptococcus
Vivian Tullio1, Annamaria Cuffini, Narcisa Mandras
1Department of Public Health and Microbiology, Microbiology Division, University of Turin, Via Santena 9, 10126 Turin, Italy. vivian.tullio@unito.it
Abstract:
Current antibiotic therapy encourages the use of antibiotics that may potentiate the host's immune defences. We therefore investigated the effect of thiamphenicol (TAP), the active principle of thiamphenicol glycinate acetylcysteinate (TGA), on human granulocyte functions, mainly phagocytosis and intracellular killing of Streptococcus pyogenes. Our findings support the use of thiamphenicol in the treatment of respiratory tract infections caused by S. pyogenes as it acts directly against the pathogen as well as in cooperation with PMNs by eliciting their intracellular killing.
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