RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Azithromycin and ciprofloxacin have a chloroquine-like effect on respiratory epithelial cells
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2020.03.29.008631
DO 10.1101/2020.03.29.008631
A1 Poschet, Jens F.
A1 Perkett, Elizabeth A.
A1 Timmins, Graham S.
A1 Deretic, Vojo
YR 2020
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2020/03/31/2020.03.29.008631.abstract
AB There is interest in the use of chloroquine/hydroxychloroquine (CQ/HCQ) and azithromycin (AZT) in COVID-19 therapy. Employing cystic fibrosis respiratory epithelial cells, here we show that drugs AZT and ciprofloxacin (CPX) act as acidotropic lipophilic weak bases and confer in vitro effects on intracellular organelles similar to the effects of CQ. These seemingly disparate FDA-approved antimicrobials display a common property of modulating pH of endosomes and trans-Golgi network. We believe this may in part help understand the potentially beneficial effects of CQ/HCQ and AZT in COVID-19, and that the present considerations of HCQ and AZT for clinical trials should be extended to CPX.