Objective: Ertapenem and doripenem are the new members of the carbapenem family. Activity of antimicrobial agents depends not only on their direct effects on microorganisms, but also on the functional activity of the host immune system. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effects of ertapenem and doripenem on cytokine secretion from human peripheral mononuclear cells stimulated with heat-inactivated Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains.

Materials and Methods: Mononuclear cells were stimulated with heat-inactivated microorganisms, then ertapenem and doripenem were added on cell culture media. After incubation, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10, IL-17, IL-23, interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β1) levels were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in the culture supernatants.

Results: The levels of TGF-β was found to be significantly increased in the wells that contained ertapenem and doripenem relative to the wells that did not contain these agents. There was no significant difference in the levels of the other tested cytokines.

Conclusion: TGF-β is a potent cytokine with immunoregulatory and anti-inflammatory activities. It was determined that ertapenem and doripenem had direct immunomodulatory effects. Thus, it was suggested that TGF-β might play a critical role in the anti-inflammatory effects of ertapenem and doripenem.