Effects of carteolol hydrochloride on the in vitro production of LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokines by murine macrophage.

We investigated whether carteolol hydrochloride, which has intrinsic sympathomimetic activity (ISA), inhibits the production of proinflammatory cytokines using mouse macrophages (MPs) and peripheral-blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). MPs and PBMCs were collected from BALB/C strain mice, treated simultaneously with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and test agents (carteolol hydrochloride, timolol maleate, betaxolol hydrochloride, levobunolol hydrochloride, or nipradilol) in medium, and incubated in a CO2 incubator. TNF-alpha and IL-6 in medium were measured by ELISA. Carteolol hydrochloride significantly inhibited the production of TNF-alpha and IL-6 by MPs at 10(-5) M and higher (p < 0.01) or PBMCs at 10(-6) M and higher (p < 0.01) compared to the controls, while the other test agents had no inhibitory effect. Carteolol hydrochloride inhibited the production of proinflammatory cytokines by inflammatory cells, raising the possibility that this intraocular hypotensive drug may be expected to have anti-inflammatory effects in patients with increased intraocular tension and postoperative inflammation.