Cytotoxic Effects of Commercial Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis (CAPD) Fluids and of Bacterial Exoproducts on Human Mesothelial Cells in Vitro

Cultured human mesothelial cells were exposed to peritoneal dialysis fluids, supernatants from cultures of Staphylococcus aureus and S. epidermidis, and antibiotics. Mesothelial cell monolayer cultures were derived from surgically removed omentum. The cytotoxicity of various agents for the cultured mesothelial cells was measured by a 51 Cr-release assay. All brands of fresh peritoneal dialysis fluids induced a more than 50% 51 Cr-release after 18 h. Morphological changes observed included retraction and shrinking of cells, pyknosis of the nuclei and, finally, detachment of cells over an 18-h period. Neutralization of the acid (pH 5.2–5.5) fluids to pH 7.3 did not abolish the cytotoxicity. In contrast, effluent dialysis fluids were not toxic for mesothelial cells; neither was acid (pH 5.5) culture medium nor culture medium with glucose up to 2%. However, higher glucose concentrations induced increasing 51 Cr-release. Furthermore, filter-sterilized supernatants of S. aureus were cytotoxic for mesothelial cell monolayers in 4/7 (57%) strains of S. aureus tested. In contrast, only 4/29 (14%) strains of S. epidermidis produced cytotoxic exoproducts (p = 0.03). Antibiotics were not found to be cytotoxic, with the possible exception of erythromycin. We conclude that currently available peritoneal dialysis fluids are cytotoxic for mesothelial cells in vitro and that during episodes of peritonitis exoproducts of some bacterial strains may further reduce mesothelial cell viability.