Radiation impacts on toxicity of cobalt-chromium (CoCr) implant debris.

Particulate and soluble debris are generated by mechanical and non-mechanical degradation of implanted medical devices. Debris containing cobalt and chromium (CoCr) is known to cause adverse biological reactions. Implant-related complications are often diagnosed using radiography, which results in more frequent patient exposure to ionizing radiation.

Macrophage fusion caused by particle instillation.

Background: Multinucleated giant cells (MGC) are formed by fusion of macrophages in pathological conditions. These are often studied in the context of the foreign body response to biomaterial implants, but MGC formation is rarely assessed in response to inorganic particles in the lungs. Therefore, a major objective of this study was to quantitatively compare macrophage fusion resulting from exposure to a spectrum of micron- and nano-sized particles from both environmental and engineered origin, including crystalline silica, multiwalled carbon nanotubes, titanium nanobelts, and crocidolite asbestos.

Multinucleated giant cell phenotype in response to stimulation.

Macrophages fuse into multinucleated giant cells (MGC) in many pathological conditions. Despite MGC correlations with granulomas, their functional contribution to inflammation is relatively unknown. An in vitro mouse model of IL-4-induced bone marrow-derived macrophage fusion and microfiltration were used to generate enriched MGC and macrophage populations.

Factors influencing multinucleated giant cell formation in vitro.

Macrophages fuse together to form multinucleated giant cells (MGC) in granulomas associated with various pathological conditions. Improved in vitro methods are required to better enable investigations of MGC biology and potential contribution to disease. There is a need for standardization of MGC quantification, purification of MGC populations, and characterization of how cell culture variables influence MGC formation.

Lung deposition patterns of MWCNT vary with degree of carboxylation.

Functionalization of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) is known to affect the biological response (e.g. toxicity, inflammation) in vitro and in vivo.

Imipramine blocks acute silicosis in a mouse model.

Background: Inhalation of crystalline silica is associated with pulmonary inflammation and silicosis. Although silicosis remains a prevalent health problem throughout the world, effective treatment choices are limited. Imipramine (IMP) is a FDA approved tricyclic antidepressant drug with lysosomotropic characteristics.

Influence of Iron-Doped Apatite Nanoparticles on Viral Infection Examined in Bacterial Versus Algal Systems.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have estimated that each year, two million people in the United States become infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, of which, approximately 23000 die as a direct result of these infections. Phage therapy, or the treatment of bacterial infection by specific, antagonistic viruses, provides one alternative to traditional antibiotics. Bacteriophages, or phages, are bacteria-specific viruses that possess biological traits that allow for not only the removal of bacterial infection, but also the evasion of bacterial resistance, which renders antibiotics ineffective.

Fibroblast morphology on dynamic softening of hydrogels.

Despite cellular environments having dynamic characteristics, many laboratories utilized static polyacrylamide hydrogels to study the ECM-cell relationship. To attain a more in vivo like environment, we have developed a dynamic, DNA-crosslinked hydrogel (DNA gel). Through the controlled delivery of DNA, we can temporally decrease or increase gel stiffness while expanding or contracting the gel, respectively.