Ciprofloxacin transport by chemoattractant-activated polymorphonuclear leukocytes: regulation by priming and protein kinase C.

At infection sites, polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) function is enhanced ("primed") by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and activated by formyl peptides. In this study, GM-CSF or LPS alone had no significant effects on PMN ciprofloxacin transport. Through a mechanism involving protein kinase C, activation by formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP) significantly decreased the K(m) of ciprofloxacin transport and enhanced ciprofloxacin accumulation. This effect was dramatically enhanced when PMNs were primed with GM-CSF or LPS prior to activation by fMLP.