EVALUATION OF GENOTOXIC EFFECTS OF LEVOFLOXACIN IN HUMAN PERIPHERAL LYMPHOCYTES

Background and Objectives: Levofloxacin, is a third generation quinolon antibiotic used in the the treatment of upper respiratory tract, urinary tract, skin and soft tissue, bone-joint, eye and ear infections. In this study, possible genotoxic effects of levofloxacin were analyzed by using sister chromatid exchanges (SCE), chromosome aberrations (CA) and micronucleus (MN) tests in human peripheral lymphocytes. Methods: Peripheral blood samples taken from two healthy women and two men were treated with four different concentrations of levofloxacin (12,5, 25, 50 and 100 μg /ml) for 24 and 48 hours and SCE, CA, and MN levels of treated cells were examined. In order to analyze the cytotoxic effect, mitotic index, proliferation index and nuclear division index in the treated cells were also determined. e obtained data was compared with the control by using SPSS (17.0) software programme. Results: Treatment with the different doses of levofloxacin for 24 and 48 h did not effect the SCE frequency, but highest levofloxacin dose (100 μg/ml) caused a significant increase in the CA level. Also, treatment of 25, 50, and 100 μg/ml levofloxacin significantly increased the MN level as compared the control group. ere was no significant differences between the treated cells and control according to the proliferation index, mitotic index, and nuclear division index. In conclusion, levofloxacin has genotoxic but not cytotoxic effect in human peripheral lymhocytes.