@article {1287961,
	title = {The Effect of Solithromycin, a Cationic Amphiphilic Drug, on the Proliferation and Differentiation of Human Meibomian Gland Epithelial Cells},
	journal = {Curr Eye Res},
	volume = {43},
	number = {6},
	year = {2018},
	month = {2018 Jun},
	pages = {683-688},
	abstract = {PURPOSE: We previously discovered that azithromycin (AZM) acts directly on immortalized human meibomian gland epithelial cells (IHMGECs) to stimulate their lipid and lysosome accumulation and overall differentiation. We hypothesize that this phospholipidosis-like effect is due to AZM{\textquoteright}s cationic amphiphilic drug (CAD) nature. If our hypothesis is correct, then other CADs (e.g., solithromycin [SOL]) should be able to duplicate AZM{\textquoteright}s action on IHMGECs. Our purpose was to test this hypothesis.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: IHMGECs were cultured in the presence of vehicle or SOL (2, 10, or 20~{\textmu}g/ml) for up to 7~days under proliferating or differentiating conditions. Positive (epidermal growth factor and bovine pituitary extract for proliferation; AZM for differentiation) and negative (vehicle) controls were included with the experiments. IHMGECs were evaluated for cell number, neutral lipid content, and lysosome accumulation.

RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that SOL induces a rapid and dose-dependent increase in the accumulation of neutral lipids and lysosomes in HMGECs. The lysosomal effects were most prominent with the 10 and 20~{\textmu}g/ml doses, and occurred earlier (i.e., 1 day) with SOL than with the AZM (10~{\textmu}g/ml) control. The effects of SOL and AZM on IHMGEC differentiation were essentially the same after 3~days of culture. SOL did not influence the proliferation of HMGECs during a 7-day time period.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results support our hypothesis that SOL, a CAD, is able to reproduce AZM{\textquoteright}s impact on lysosome and lipid accumulation, as well as the differentiation, of HMGECs. The effect of SOL on lysosome appearance was faster than that of AZM.},
	issn = {1460-2202},
	doi = {10.1080/02713683.2017.1418894},
	author = {Liu, Yang and Kam, Wendy R and Fernandes, Prabhavathi and Sullivan, David A}
}
