Foam-based Left Atrial Appendage Closure (CLAAS) Device: Evaluation in a Chronic Canine Model.

Background: The Conformal Left Atrial Appendage System (CLAAS) is a transcatheter implant designed to occlude the left atrial appendage to prevent stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. The implant incorporates a novel polyurethane polycarbonate-urea foam matrix to enhance device performance. The objective of this study was to characterize the thrombogenicity, sealing, implant integrity, local tissue response, and systemic toxicity of the implant in a healthy canine model.

Amelioration of Ischemic Brain Injury in Rats With Human Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cells: Mechanisms of Action.

Despite the high prevalence and devastating outcome, there remain a few options for treatment of ischemic stroke. Currently available treatments are limited by a short time window for treatment and marginal efficacy when used. We have tested a human umbilical cord blood-derived stem cell line that has been shown to result in a significant reduction in stroke infarct volume as well as improved functional recovery following stroke in the rat.

Rabbit Model for Superantigen-Mediated Lethal Pulmonary Disease.

Staphylococcus aureus is a highly significant cause of serious human infections in the USA. Many of these illnesses are mediated by interactions between the host immune system and staphylococcal superantigens (SAgs). Several of these severe staphylococcal infections are initiated in the lungs, making this an important site to study.

Differential Induction of Type I and Type III Interferons by Swine and Human Origin H1N1 Influenza A Viruses in Porcine Airway Epithelial Cells.

Interferons (IFNs) have been shown to inhibit influenza A virus (IAV) replication and play an essential role in controlling viral infection. Here we studied the kinetics and magnitude of induction of type I and type III IFN transcripts by primary porcine airway epithelial cells (pAECs) in response to swine and human origin IAV. We observed that swine influenza viruses (SIV) replicate more efficiently than the human pandemic influenza A/California/2009 (pH1N1 CA/09) in pAECs.

Activated CD8+ T lymphocytes inhibit neural stem/progenitor cell proliferation: role of interferon-gamma.

The ability of neural stem/progenitor cells (NSCs) to self-renew, migrate to damaged sites, and differentiate into neurons has renewed interest in using them in therapies for neurodegenerative disorders. Neurological diseases, including viral infections of the brain, are often accompanied by chronic inflammation, whose impact on NSC function remains unexplored. We have previously shown that chronic neuroinflammation, a hallmark of experimental herpes simplex encephalitis (HSE) in mice, is dominated by brain-infiltrating activated CD8 T-cells.

Modulation of neural stem/progenitor cell proliferation during experimental Herpes Simplex encephalitis is mediated by differential FGF-2 expression in the adult brain.

Neural stem cells (NSCs) respond to inflammatory cues induced during brain injury and are thought to be involved in recovery from brain damage. Little is known about NSC response during brain infections. The present study evaluated NSC proliferation during Herpes Simplex Virus-1 brain infection.

Staphylococcal superantigens cause lethal pulmonary disease in rabbits.

Background: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and others reported that methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) are significant causes of serious human infections, including pulmonary illnesses. We investigated the role played by superantigens in lung-associated lethal illness in rabbits.

Extreme pyrexia and rapid death due to Staphylococcus aureus infection: analysis of 2 cases.

We describe unusual Staphylococcus aureus infections in 2 patients. The infections were characterized by extreme pyrexia and rapid death. Both causative organisms produced a deletion mutant form of toxic shock syndrome toxin-1 and variant enterotoxin C, which may have caused pyrexia and death.