sCD14-ST and Related Osteoimmunological Biomarkers: A New Diagnostic Approach to Osteomyelitis.

Osteomyelitis (OM) is a major challenge in orthopedic surgery. The diagnosis of OM is based on imaging and laboratory tests, but it still presents some limitations. Therefore, a deeper comprehension of the pathogenetic mechanisms could enhance diagnostic and treatment approaches.

New Molecular Mechanisms and Markers in Inflammatory Disorders.

Inflammation is the primary response of different disorders, and these encompass a wide range of conditions in various tissues and organs [...

SCD14-ST and New Generation Inflammatory Biomarkers in the Prediction of COVID-19 Outcome.

Since no definitive cure for COVID-19 is available so far, one of the challenges against the disease is understanding the clinical features and the laboratory inflammatory markers that can differentiate among different severity grades of the disease. The aim of the present study is a comprehensive and longitudinal evaluation of SCD14-ST and other new inflammatory markers, as well as cytokine storm molecules and current inflammatory parameters, in order to define a panel of biomarkers that could be useful for a better prognostic prediction of COVID-19 mortality. SCD14-ST, as well as the inflammatory markers IL-6, IL-10, SuPAR and sRAGE, were measured in plasma-EDTA of ICU COVID-19 positive patients.

Osteomyelitis, Oxidative Stress and Related Biomarkers.

Bone is a very dynamic tissue, subject to continuous renewal to maintain homeostasis through bone remodeling, a process promoted by two cell types: osteoblasts, of mesenchymal derivation, are responsible for the deposition of new material, and osteoclasts, which are hematopoietic cells, responsible for bone resorption. Osteomyelitis (OM) is an invasive infectious process, with several etiological agents, the most common being , affecting bone or bone marrow, and severely impairing bone homeostasis, resulting in osteolysis. One of the characteristic features of OM is a strong state of oxidative stress (OS) with severe consequences on the delicate balance between osteoblastogenesis and osteoclastogenesis.

Erythrocytes as markers of oxidative stress related pathologies.

Erythrocytes are deeply sensitive cells and important health indicators. During inflammatory response RBC, as a part of haematological system, are exposed to circulating inflammatory mediators and related oxidative stress. They present a highly specialized and organized cell membrane that interacts with inflammatory mediators and oxidative agents, leading to a variety of structural changes that promptly signal an abnormal situation.

Longitudinal evaluation of Wnt inhibitors and comparison with others serum osteoimmunological biomarkers in osteolytic bone metastasis.

Bone and the immune system are closely linked: bone regulates the hematopoietic stem cells, which are precursors of immune cells, and several immunoregulatory cytokines influence the differentiation of bone cells, thus defining the osteoimmunological system. Cytokines and growth factors produced by immune and bone cells promote tumors in bone, supporting the vicious cycle of bone metastasis. Therefore osteoimmunological molecules linking the immune and bone systems could have diagnostic and prognostic potential for bone metastases.

Clinical application of presepsin as diagnostic biomarker of infection: overview and updates.

The appropriate identification of bacterial infection is the basis for effective treatment and control of infective disease. Among this context, an emerging biomarker of infection is presepsin (PSP), recently described as early marker of different infections. PSP secretion has been shown to be associated with monocyte phagocytosis and plasmatic levels of PSP increase in response to bacterial infection and decrease after antibiotic treatment, therefore it can be considered a marker of activation of immune cell response towards an invading pathogen.

CoCrMo alloys ions release behavior by TiNbN coating: an in vitro study.

The aim of the study was to show in vitro the greater inertness to the corrosion body fluid of TiNbN coating than the CoCrMo alloy substrate. The prosthetic component under study was a femoral component of total knee prosthesis in CoCrMo alloy coated in TiNbN with Physical Vapor Deposition technique immersed in static Hank's balanced salt solution (HBS) (pH = 6) for at least 34 months at a constant temperature of 37 °C. Another uncoated prosthetic component of CoCrMo alloy with the same type and size was left in static immersion in the same solution and for the same period of time.

Effects of Vitamin E-Stabilized Ultra High Molecular Weight Polyethylene on Oxidative Stress Response and Osteoimmunological Response in Human Osteoblast.

High Crosslink process was introduced in the development of joint prosthetic devices, in order to decrease the wear rate of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), but it also triggers the formation of free radicals and oxidative stress, which affects the physiological bone remodeling, leading to osteolysis. Vitamin E stabilization of UHMWPE was proposed to provide oxidation resistance without affecting mechanical properties and fatigue strength. The aim of this study is to evaluate the antioxidant effect of vitamin E added to UHMWPE on oxidative stress induced osteolysis, focusing in particular on the oxidative stress response in correlation with the production of osteoimmunological markers, Sclerostin and DKK-1, and the RANKL/OPG ratio compared to conventional UHMWPE wear debris.

Lag-time in Alzheimer's disease patients: a potential plasmatic oxidative stress marker associated with ApoE4 isoform.

In the brain, Oxidative Stress (OS) contribute to structural and functional changes associated with vascular aging, such as endothelial dysfunction, extracellular matrix degradation, resulting in age-related reduced vasodilatation in response to agonists. For this reason, OS is considered a key factor in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) development and recent evidence correlated oxidative stress with vascular lesion in the pathogenesis of AD, but the mechanism still need to be fully clarified. The etiology of AD is still not completely understood and is influenced by several factors including Apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotype.

A Prospective Assessment of Periprosthetic Bone Mineral Density and Osteoimmunological Biomarkers Variations After Total Knee Replacement Surgery.

Aseptic loosening is a major cause of premature failure of total knee replacement (TKR). Variations in periprosthetic bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoimmunological biomarkers levels could help to quantify prosthesis osteointegration and predict early aseptic loosening. The gene expression of 5 selected osteoimmunological biomarkers was evaluated in tibial plateau bone biopsies by real-time polymerase chain reaction and changes in their serum levels after TKR were prospectively evaluated with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for 1 yr after surgery.

Vitamin E-stabilized UHMWPE: Biological response on human osteoblasts to wear debris.

UHMWPE doped with vitamin E was introduced to provide oxidation resistance upon sterilization, without affecting UHMWPE's mechanical properties. Particle-induced macrophage activation leads to periprosthetic bone resorption, requiring total joint replacements. During osteolysis, osteoblasts produce osteoimmunological factors such as RANKL and OPG, and the inhibitors of the Wnt pathway DKK-1 and Sclerostin.

Plasmatic Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products as a New Oxidative Stress Biomarker in Patients with Prosthetic-Joint-Associated Infections?

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is the most common cause of failure of total joint arthroplasty, but a gold standard for PJI diagnosis is still lacking. Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are proinflammatory molecules inducing intracellular oxidative stress (OS) after binding to their cell membrane receptors (RAGE). The aim of this study was to evaluate plasmatic soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products (sRAGE), as a new OS and infection marker correlating sRAGE to the level of OS and antioxidant defenses, in PJI, in order to explore the possible application of this new biomarker in the early diagnosis of PJI.

Presepsin: A potential biomarker of PJI? A comparative analysis with known and new infection biomarkers.

There is still no "gold standard" for the diagnosis and prognosis of post-operative periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). Among serum biomarkers, an emerging molecule is presepsin, the soluble fraction of CD14, recently described in other settings as a powerful diagnostic tool to detect sepsis at different degrees of severity. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic and prognostic value of presepsin in PJI.

Evaluation of circulating sRAGE in osteoporosis according to BMI, adipokines and fracture risk: a pilot observational study.

Background: Osteoporosis is a systemic metabolic disease based on age-dependent imbalance between the rates of bone formation and bone resorption. Recent studies on the pathogenesis of this disease identified that bone remodelling impairment, at the base of osteoporotic bone fragility, could be related to protein glycation, in association to oxidative stress. The glycation reactions lead to the generation of glycation end products (AGEs) which, in turn, accumulates into bone, where they binds to the receptor for AGE (RAGE).

Association between low C-peptide and fragility fractures in postmenopausal women without diabetes.

Purpose: C-peptide has been shown to exert several, previously unknown, biological effects. A recent cross-sectional study demonstrated an association between low C-peptide serum levels and low lumbar bone density of postmenopausal women not affected by diabetes. To date, very little research attention has been directed toward the association between C-peptide and osteoporotic fractures.

RNA isolation from alveolar bone and gene expression analysis of RANK, RANKL and OPG: A new tool to monitor bone remodeling and healing in different bone substitutes used for prosthetic rehabilitation.

Objective: (i) To validate a simple and efficient method for extracting high quality RNA from small samples of bone tissue, (ii) to test its application on limited amounts of grafted oral bone and (iii) to analyze the gene expression of the OPG/RANK/RANKL system and IL-6 in "spontaneous healing" and grafted tissue.

Design: 26 patients in need of extraction of one lower molar tooth were divided in 3 groups. In group A (8 patients) the alveolar socket was left for spontaneous healing, in group B (8 patients) it was filled with a hydroxyapatite scaffold while in group C (10 patients) it was filled with hydroxyapatite granules.

Circulating sRAGE in the diagnosis of osteolytic bone metastasis.

Despite the clinical importance of metastasis to the skeleton, the diagnostic tools for early detection and monitoring of bone metastasis lack sensitivity and specificity. We evaluated a promising new serum biomarker, the soluble form of the Receptor of Advanced Glycosylated End-products (sRAGE). sRAGE is involved in the Wnt-signaling pathway, and has been reported to reduce the risk of cancer.

Proinsulin C-peptide modulates the expression of ERK1/2, type I collagen and RANKL in human osteoblast-like cells (Saos-2).

A lower bone mass accompanied by a higher bone fragility with increased risk of fracture are observed in individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Low C-peptide levels are associated with low lumbar mineral density in postmenopausal woman. In this work, we investigated the role of C-peptide on the osteoblast cell biology in vitro.

Wnt signaling pathway inhibitors as promising diagnostic serum markers of osteolytic bone metastasis.

Despite the clinical importance of bone metastases, we still know little about their onset and progression and current diagnostic tools lack the sensitivity and specificity required for clear early diagnosis. We therefore need to continue studying the pathogenesis of bone metastatic invasion in order to improve diagnosis. The Wnt pathway has been described as having an important role in bone carcinogenesis and metastatic progression.