Levofloxacin kills Chlamydia pneumoniae and modulates interleukin 6 production by HEp-2 cells.

Background: Chlamydia pneumoniae is known to cause acute respiratory infection and more recently it has been studied as a pathogen causing inflammatory changes in chronic diseases such as atherosclerosis. This study addresses the antichlamydial effect of levofloxacin and its role in modulation of a proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 production by uninfected and infected HEp-2 cells.

Methods: HEp-2 cell monolayers were infected with previously prepared and frozen aliquots of C.