Anti-Inflammatory and Immune Modulation Effects of Macrolides
At present, macrolides are known to possess anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory actions extending beyond their antibacterial activity in pulmonary inflammatory dis-orders such as diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB), asthma, and cystic fibrosis. Both in vitro and in vivo data show macrolides to down regulate prolonged inflammatory response, reduce airway mucus secretion, inhibit the bacterial adhesion biofilm, reduce the production of reactive oxygen species, inhibit neutrophil activation and mobilization with an accel-eration of the apoptotic process, and also block the activation of nuclear transcription factors [6–11]. After macrolides accumulating within cells, they may interact with receptors or second messengers responsible for the regulation of cell cycle and cellular immunity.
Among these macrolides, erythromycin is the first drug which was studied about their efficacy on RV. Erythromycin is a macrolide antibiotic with potent anti-inflammatory effects that is used for treating chronic lower respiratory tract infections.