Interference of antibacterial agents with phagocyte functions: immunomodulation or "immuno-fairy tales"?

ABSTRACT: Professional phagocytes (polymorphonuclear neutrophils and monocytes/macrophages) are a main component of the immune system. These cells are involved in both host defenses and various pathological settings characterized by excessive inflammation. Accordingly, they are key targets for immunomodulatory drugs, among which antibacterial agents are promising candidates. The basic and historical concepts of immunomodulation will first be briefly reviewed. Phagocyte complexity will then be unravelled (at least in terms of what we know about the origin, subsets, ambivalent roles, functional capacities, and transductional pathways of this cell and how to explore them). The core subject of this review will be the many possible interactions between antibacterial agents and phagocytes, classified acco

SUBMITTER: Labro MT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC88953 | biostudies-literature | 2000 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature