In order to investigate the effect of moxifloxacin on survival, lipid peroxidation and inflammation in immunosuppressed rats with soft tissue infection caused by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, 144 white male Wistar rats were randomized into six groups: Groups A and B received saline or moxifloxacin once per day, respectively; Groups C and D received saline or moxifloxacin twice per day, respectively, and Groups E and F received saline or moxifloxacin three times per day, respectively. Blood samples were taken at 6 and 30 hr after administration of S. maltophilia. Malonodialdehyde (MDA), WBC counts, bacterial tissue overgrowth, serum concentrations of moxifloxacin and survival were assessed. Survival analysis proved that treatment with moxifloxacin every 8 hr was accompanied by longer survival than occurred in any other group. Tissue cultures 30 hr after bacterial challenge showed considerably less bacterial overgrowth in the spleens and lungs of moxifloxacin-treated than in salinetreated animals, but not in their livers. At 6 hr there were no statistically significant differences between groups. However, at 30 hr, MDA concentrations were significantly greater (P ¼ 0.044) and WBC counts significantly lower (P ¼ 0.026) in group D than in group C. No statistically significant variations were observed between the other groups. Moxifloxacin possibly stimulates lipid peroxidation and enhances phagocytosis, as indicated by MDA production and survival prolongation, without being toxic, as indicated by WBC count. Therefore, under the appropriate conditions, moxifloxacin has a place in treatment of infections in immunosuppressed patients and of infections caused by S. maltophilia.
Key words immunosuppression, malonodialdehyde, moxifloxacin.The number of immunosuppressed patients is constantly increasing as a result of increased frequency of organ transplantation, increased use of chemotherapy to treat malignancies and of immunomodulative drugs to treat autoimmune diseases and increased incidence of diseases that cause immunodeficiency. Infections in these patients pose significant clinical problems regarding both diagnosis and treatment.Soft tissue infections, which may be nosocomial or community infections, present with higher frequency List of Abbreviations: ER, endoplasmic reticulum; JNK, c-Jun N-terminal kinases; MAP, mitogen-activated protein; MDA, malonodialdehyde; NFkB, nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells; ROS, reactive oxygen species; THP-1, human acute monocytic leukemia cell line.