Comparative effects of roxithromycin and erythromycin on cellular immune functions in vitro. 1. Uptake of 3H-macrolides by human macrophages.

The degree of penetration of roxithromycin in human macrophages was evaluated and compared with that of erythromycin. The results indicated that both macrolides at concentrations of 2, 10 and 20 micrograms/ml were concentrated by macrophages, even if roxithromycin was consistently and significantly more accumulated than erythromycin. Comparison of the degree of penetration of the two drugs into dead, resident and stimulated phagocytes indicated that the process of transfer through the macrophage wall was of an active nature, related to the metabolic state of the cells. Analysis of the binding of the two macrolides to intracellular proteins showed that more binding sites were available for erythromycin than for roxithromycin.