Correlation between in vivo anti-Pseudomonas and anti-Candida activities and clearance of carbon by the reticuloendothelial system for various muramyl dipeptide analogs, using normal and immunosuppressed mice.

A linear correlation coefficient analysis, comparing in vivo anti-infective and reticuloendothelial stimulating activity of several different analogs of N-acetylmuramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine (muramyl dipeptide) suggests that the macrophage is an important target cell for these immunomodulating compounds. The increase in protection against infections of Candida albicans or Pseudomonas aeruginosa in normal or immunosuppressed mice after treatment with 18 different glycopeptides was found to correlate with the degree of clearance of colloidal carbon particles from the blood by the reticuloendothelial system after treatment with the same muramyl dipeptide analogs. The compound which gave the greatest protection in all four assays was N-acetylmuramyl-L-alpha-aminobutyryl-D-isoglutamine followed by N-acetyl-nor-muramyl-L-alanyl-D-isoglutamine. Both analogs were better than the parent muramyl dipeptide. Whether macrophage stimulation alone is responsible for the anti-infective properties of these compounds has not yet been determined.