The effect of fetal bovine serum on polyene macrolide antibiotic cytotoxicity and antifungal activity

Summary The relationships between fetal bovine serum (FBS) concentration and polyene macrolide antibiotic cytotoxicity to animal cells and to fungi were evaluated. The toxicity of amphotericin B (AB) and its derivative, amphotericin B methyl ester (AME), toward KB cells was found to be directly related to fetal bovine serum concentration. At higher FBS levels, increased concentrations of AB and AME were required to reduce 72-hr KB viable cell numbers to 50% of control values. Similarly, polyene macrolide antibiotic levels required to inhibit the growth ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae to 50% of controls, and for obtaining minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFC), were greater when higher levels of FBS were used. In addition, AME was less toxic than AB toward KB cells grown in media containing 2, 5, 10, 15 or 20% FBS, whereas the antifungal activities of AB and AME were similar. AME was also capable of eliminatingCandida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Aspergillus niger orFusarium moniliforme from KB cultures at antibiotic levels which exhibited less cell toxicity than did the concentrations of AB required for a similar response. These findings indicate that AME may be a potentially useful antifungal antibiotic for tissue culture systems. Portions of this paper were presented at the 25th Annual Meeting of the Tissue Culture Association at Miami, Florida, 1974. This investigation was supported in part by contract NIH 69-2161, NIH grant no. AI-02095 and NIH training grant no. GM 507 from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences.