Effects of azithromycin on blood inflammatory gene expression and cytokine production in sarcoidosis

The effects of azithromycin on whole blood gene expression using the nCounter XT human autoimmune profiling panel was assessed in 8 sarcoidosis patients before and after 1 month of azithromycin treatment. Blood samples (1ml) from patients with pulmonary sarcoidosis at baseline (visit 1) and after 1 month's treatment with azithromycin 250mg daily (visit 2) were drawn into tubes (TruCulture®, Myriad-RBM) containing 100 ng/ml LPS or null control (no stimulant). After stimulation for 24h at 37°C, samples were separated into supernatants (aliquoted and stored at -70°C for later cytokine analysis) and cell pellets (mixed with 3ml RNAlater® (Ambion) and stored at -70°C).