In vitro transfer of clarithromycin and amoxicillin across the epithelial barrier: effect of Helicobacter pylori.

The mode of absorption of amoxicillin and clarithromycin, two antibiotics used in the treatment of Helicobacter pylori infection, has not been completely elucidated. The aims of this study were to investigate the passage of these antibiotics across normal and infected epithelium and to measure their accumulation in HT29-19A or Caco2 epithelial cell monolayers. In non-infected cultures, basal-to-apical fluxes were significantly higher than apical-to-basal fluxes for both antibiotics, but this difference disappeared in monolayers infected with H. pylori. In 24 h studies, clarithromycin, but not amoxicillin, showed rapid intracellular accumulation. No difference was found between the transepithelial passage of amoxicillin across the HT29-19A and Caco2 monolayers.