The Effects of Antifungal Azoles on Inflammatory Cytokine Production in Human Keratinocytes

Introduction & Objective: Azoles drugs are being used successfully in treatment of fungal infections. Recently, immunosuppressive effects of some of these agents have been reported. Keratinocytes, as the major cells of the skin, have an important role in innate immunity against pathogenic agents. Considering the scanty of information about the effects of azoles on immune responces, this study was conducted to assess the expression and secretion of inflammatory cytokines in keratinocytes following treatment with azole drugs. Materials & Methods: This is an exprimental study conducted in in molecular biology division in Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Immunodermatology Department in Vienna Medical University. Primery keratinocytes were cultured and treated with different concentrations of fluconazole, itraconazole, ketoconazole and griseofulvin. Secreted IL1, IL6 and TNF-α by keratinocytes in culture supernatant were measured by quantitative enzyme immunoassay technique. Moreover, expression of the genes encoding IL1 and IL8 was evaluated by Real Time-PCR. Results: Treatment of keratinocytes with different concentrations of fluconazole and low concentration of ketoconazole resulted in decrease in IL1 secretion, but Itraconazole and griseofulvin did not show such an effect at the same concentrations. In addition, none of the examined drugs had an effect on secretion level of IL6 and TNF-α. Quantitative analysis of IL1 and IL8 encoding genes revealed that transcription on these genes might be suppressed following treatment with fluconazole or ketoconazole. Conclusion: Fluconazole and ketoconazole might modulate the expression and secretion of IL1 and IL8 and affect the direction of immune responses induced by keratinocytes