MG: Ceftriaxone pharmacokinetics in interleukin-10-treated murine pneumococcal pneumonia. J Antimicrob Chemother 2005, 55:721–726.Submit your next manuscript to BioMed Central and take full advantage of: • Convenient online submission • Thorough peer revi

Objectives: Anti-inflammatory therapy with interleukin-10 (IL-10) was previously reported to reduce pulmonary inflammation and to prevent septicaemia in murine pneumococcal pneumonia treated with ceftriaxone. In the present report, we investigated the influence of pulmonary infection and IL-10 administration on the pharmacokinetics of ceftriaxone. Methods: CD1 mice were infected with 107 cfu of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Treatments (intraperito-neal) with IL-10 (1mg per mouse), ceftriaxone (20 mg/kg) or the combination of IL-101 ceftriaxone were initiated 18 h after infection. Groups of mice were sacrificed at several time points from 5 min to 24 h after initiation of therapy. Ceftriaxone was quantified in blood and lungs using a microbiological assay. Additional groups of mice received a second dose of IL-10 at 36 h post-infection. Survival rates were recorded over 14 days. Results: The clearance of ceftriaxone was significantly reduced in infected mice compared with that in non-infected animals (P < 0.01), whereas AUC, mean residence time, t1/2 and AUClung/AUCserum were significantly enhanced (P < 0.01, 0.01, 0.05, 0.05). Co-administration of IL-10 with ceftriaxone in infected animals further retained ceftriaxone in the bloodstream and reduced its volume of distribution at steady state and the ratio of AUClung/AUCserum. IL-10 alone did not modify significantly the pharmacokinetics of ceftriaxone in blood and lungs of non-infected animals. Conclusions: The results suggest that pulmonary infection, and therapy with IL-10, both affect the pharmacokinetics of ceftriaxone. Indeed, administration of IL-101 ceftriaxone improved the survival rate of mice (P < 0.001 compared with therapy with ceftriaxone alone). IL-10 should be considered as an adjunctive therapy to antibiotics against severe infections