Impacts of antibiotics on in vitro UVA-susceptibility of human skin fibroblasts.

Many studies of UVA-induced cell damage use skin cells obtained during plastic surgery. As the skin is contaminated by micro-organisms, antibiotics need to be added to primary skin cell culture media. This study analysed the impact of the most widely used agents, penicillin, streptomycin, and amphotericin B deoxycholate (amB), on UVA-irradiated human skin fibroblasts. The results show that the presence of amB in cell culture media increases the susceptibility of fibroblasts to UVA and the intracellular level of reactive oxygen species, even when cells are irradiated in amB-free saline. This photosensitising effect of amB can be prevented if the antifungal agent is removed from the culture medium at least 24 hours before irradiation. Moreover, the use of streptomycin during cell culture partly protects cells against the UVA-induced mortality linked to amB. Acellular tests on lipid micelles suggest that this protective effect could result from an inhibition of lipid peroxidation by the antibacterial agent. In conclusion, antibiotics should be used with care in cell culture media if the cells are to be used in physiological studies of fine mechanisms in UVA-susceptibility of skin cells. In other cases, cells should be maintained in antibiotic-free media for 24 hours before irradiation.