JAC Advance Access originally published online on November 1, 2002
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Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (2002) 50, 865-872
© 2002 The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy
In vitro transfer of clarithromycin and amoxicillin across the epithelial barrier: effect of Helicobacter pylori
1 INSERM EMI-0212, Faculté de Médecine Necker-Enfants Malades, 156 rue de Vaugirard, 75730 Paris; 2 Sanofi-Synthélabo, 82 avenue Raspail, 94255 Gentilly Cedex; 3 Laboratoire de Bactériologie, Université Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2, 146 rue Léo Saignat, 33076 Bordeaux Cedex, France
Received 6 December 2001; returned 26 May 2002; revised 15 August 2002; accepted 22 August 2002
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.
Keywords: Helicobacter pylori, amoxicillin, clarithromycin, Ussing chamber, absorption
* Corresponding author. Tel: +33-1-40-61-56-34; Fax: +33-1-40-61-56-38; E-mail: matysiak{at}necker.fr