Levamisole induced enhancement of polymorphonuclear leukocyte migration in patients with periodontitis.

Abstract

The effect of the immunostimulatory drug levamisole on the stimulated migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) from patients with periodontitis and from normal subjects was assessed. Because of previous conflicting reports on the effect of this drug on PMN chemotaxis, the conditions of the assay were first investigated using zymosan‐activated serum (ZAS) as a chemoattractant. When PMNs were suspended in a medium containing 2% bovine serum albumin and stimulated with 10% ZAS, no enhancement was observed. In contrast, levamisole had a substantial enhancing effect when the PMNs were suspended in protein‐free medium and stimulated with a 25% concentration of ZAS. Using conditions between these extremes, the effect of levamisole on the migration of PMNs from live patients with periodontitis and from a sibling of one of the above who had severe recurrent otitis media was studied. PMN migration was depressed in all of the patients; the mean value was 23.3±4.9% of normal, range 2.0–53.0%. Adding levamisole enhanced cell migration in all cases; the average enhancement for the group was 297.5±46.8% p < 0.005), range 56.0–769.0%. Enhancement was maximal at drug concentrations between 0.1 and 1 mM. Levarnisole also enhanced the migration of PMNs from some but not all normal subjects, but to a lesser degree; mean enhancement was 58.4±23.8%, range 0–136.0%. Thus, under the assay conditions used, levamisole enhanced and in part corrected the depressed migratory responsiveness of PMNs from these patients with periodontitis.