Chloramphenicol-induced oxidative stress in human neutrophils

PÁEZ P L; BECERRA M C; ALBESA I

Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology

Nordic Pharmacological Society

Año: 2008 vol. 103 p. 349 - 353

1742-7835

The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effect of chloramphenicol (CAF) in order to determine its potential toxic effects on human neutrophils, by using assays of reactive oxygen species (ROS) determination, nitrite measurement and antioxidant systems. CAF enabled the oxidative stress response of neutrophils, and increased the ROS production at 2, 4, 8 and 16 mg/mL, whereas ROS generation decreased at a high concentration (32 mg/mL). The Nitro Blue Tetrazolium (NBT) assay showed that neutrophils incubated with CAF increased the intracellular ROS, with the extracellular production rising with a corresponding increase in antibiotic concentration. Enzymatic activities -superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and diaphorase enzymes- increased after CAF treatment, whilst the glutathione (GSH) level decreased in neutrophils incubated with antibiotic. The results obtained in the present work suggest that the study of susceptibility to oxidative stress in neutrophils before CAF treatment could be adequate for in vitro toxicity screening.