TY - JOUR T1 - Erythromycin attenuates an experimental model of chronic bronchiolitis <em>via</em> augmenting monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 JF - European Respiratory Journal JO - Eur Respir J SP - 360 LP - 367 DO - 10.1183/09031936.01.17303600 VL - 17 IS - 3 AU - T. Takahashi AU - M. Suga AU - A. Matsukawa AU - K. Sato AU - T. Okamoto AU - H. Ichiyasu AU - S. Ohkawara AU - M. Yoshinaga AU - M. Ando Y1 - 2001/03/01 UR - http://erj.ersjournals.com/content/17/3/360.abstract N2 - The mechanisms underlying the therapeutic efficacy of erythromycin (EM) in diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) was investigated. For this purpose, an experimental rabbit model of DPB induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa inoculation was employed. Daily administration of EM (3 mg·kg·day−1) led to an increase in the number of macrophages in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) at an early phase, while reducing the size of granulomatous lesions at the late phase without affecting the number of viable bacteria recovered from the infected lung.Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunohistochemical studies showed that monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)‐1 was produced in both BALF and infected lung. EM treatment resulted in a significant increase in the level of MCP‐1 in BALF, while reducing that of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)‐α, interleukin (IL)‐1β and IL‐8. EM also increased MCP‐1 messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) and protein expression in the infected lung. MCP‐1 blockade abolished the protective effect of EM, as neutralization of MCP‐1 with anti-MCP‐1 antibodies reduced the EM-induced increase in the number of macrophages in BALF, and augmented size of the granulomatous lesions, as compared to control.The results of the present study suggest that erythromycin attenuates the pulmonary granuloma formation, at least in part, by increasing the production of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1.This study was funded by a grant from The Japanese Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Japan. ER -