[Effect of antibiotics and stimulants on the functional activity of cultured macrophages]

Kanamycin and ampicillin alone or in combination with leucocytic pyrogen, pyrogenal and prodigiozan were tested in cultures of peritoneal macrophages infected with Shigella. The function of the cells was estimated by the phagocytosis indices (with an account of the phases of the Shigella absorption and digestion) and activity of the oxidation-reduction (the NBT test) and hydrolytic (acid phosphatase) enzymes. The inhibitory effect of the antibiotics on the functional activity of the cultivated macrophages was shown. In the presence of kanamycin a decrease in the absorptive and digestive functions of the cells with respect to Shigella was observed. The decreased activity of the oxidation-reduction enzymes and acid phosphatase in the cells almost at all observation periods was also evident of inhibition of the phagocytosis terminal phase, i.e. the intracellular digestion of the bacteria. The use of ampicillin resulted in lower levels of Shigella absorption, while the phase of the bacteria digestion remained pronounced. At the same time the decreased activity of the lysosomal enzyme (acid phosphatase) participating in intracellular digestion of Shigella was characteristic of a clear tendency to their inhibition in the presence of ampicillin. The preliminary treatment of the cells with leucocytic pyrogen, pyrogenal and prodigiozan eliminated partially or completely the inhibitory effect of the antibiotics on the functional activity of the cultivated macrophages.