Correlation between erythromycin and acid phosphatase in mouse liver

Toxicity, uptake, and subcellular distribution in rat hepatocytes of roxithromycin, a new semisynthetic macrolide, and erythromycin base

Rat hepatocytes were used to study the toxicity of a new semisynthetic macrolide, roxithromycin, in comparison with erythromycin base and erythromycin estolate. Roxithromycin caused lactate dehydrogenase leakage close to that of erythromycin estolate and higher than erythromycin base after 21 h of exposure to the drugs. This effect was, at least in part, explained by the higher uptake: roxithromycin was two to three times more concentrated by liver cells than erythromycin base. For both roxithromycin and erythromycin base, the uptake depended on time, temperature, and extracellular antibiotic concentration. The accumulated macrolides egressed rapidly when cells were incubated in antibiotic-free medium. No uptake and no loss of accumulated drugs were observed at 4 degrees C. After accumulation by hepatocytes, roxithromycin and erythromycin base underwent similar subcellular distribution, mostly concentrating in cytosol and lysosomes. The small amount accumulated in the other particulate fractions followed the order mitochondria much greater than nuclei greater than microsomes. Roxithromycin, however, was less concentrated than erythromycin base in the microsomes.

Comparative studies on the effects of erythromycin A and azithromycin upon extracellular release of lysosomal enzymes in inflammatory processes

In the present studies the in vivo and in vitro effects of erythromycin A and azithromycin, a new type of macrolide (Fig. 2.), were investigated upon extracellular release of lysosomal enzymes, beta-glucuronidase (beta-Gluc) and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (beta-Glm) by using two experimental model systems: in vivo-adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats and in vitro- human polymorphonuclear leucocytes (PMNL) exposed to bovine serum albumin/anti-bovine serum albumin (BSA/anti-BSA), immune complex. Administrations of erythromycin A or azithromycin at doses of 5, 10 and 15 mg/kg into rats one day prior and 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 days after a single subplantar injection of Freund's complete adjuvant significantly (p less than 0.01) inhibited extracellular release of lysosomal enzymes tested in the synovial fluid of injected left hind paw. These effects were dose-dependent. Further, erythromycin A and azithromycin at concentrations of 10(-7) M, 10(-6) M and 10(-5) M significantly (p less than 0.01) reduced excocytosis of both lysosomal enzymes, beta-Gluc and beta-Glm from human PMNL initiated by BSA/anti-BSA in a dose-related fashion. However, azithromycin was by far more effective (p less than 0.01) in decreasing extracellular release of beta-Gluc and beta-Glm either in the in vivo or in vitro experiments in comparison with erythromycin A. Appropriate control experiments excluded the possibilities that erythromycin A or azithromycin interfered with activities of lysosomal enzymes or with test reagents. Also, in no instances was there enhanced release of a cytoplasmic enzyme LDH.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The effects of benzo(a)pyrene on rat liver lysosomes

An i.p. injection of benzo(a)pyrene (BP; 10 mg/kg) into rats led to the progressive release of hepatic, beta-glucuronidase (beta-Gluc), beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal) and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase (beta-Glm). This occurred prior to the appearance of altered cells or cell populations from which malignant transformations may gradually develop. The in vitro studies on the latency of beta-Gluc, Beta-Gal and beta-Glm in the lysosome-enriched rat liver suspension treated with BP showed that concentrations of 10(-7) M, 10(-6) M and 10(-5) M significantly decrease latency of all three lysosomal enzymes, the effect being time-dependent. These concentrations of BP did not alter the activities of beta-Gluc, b-Gal and beta-Glm in vitro. No significant alterations were observed in total enzyme activities, following in vivo and in vitro BP administration. BP exerts its effect on rat liver lysosomes by modifying the structural properties of the lysolemma, and may represent an early precarcinogenic change.