Publications by authors named "Manuela Besser"

The treatment of chronic wounds still represents a major challenge in wound management. Recent estimates suggest that 60-80% of chronic wounds are colonized by pathogenic microorganisms, which are strongly considered to have a major inhibiting influence on the healing process. By means of an innovative biofilm model based on human plasma, the time-dependent behavior of various bacterial strains under wound-milieu-like conditions were investigated, and the growth habits of different cocci species were compared.

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Article Synopsis
  • Wound biofilms are a significant barrier to healing chronic wounds, as common antimicrobial treatments often fail to eliminate the bacteria effectively.
  • The study utilized a human plasma biofilm model to examine the interactions between MRSA bacteria and human skin cells in wound environments, focusing on how these interactions affect healing in patients with leg ulcers.
  • Findings revealed that different bacterial species infiltrate wound tissue in varied ways, which correlates with clinical observations, and the study proposes that routine microbiological swabbing of wounds could aid in treatment and prevent worsening conditions.
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There is compelling evidence suggesting a pivotal role played by macrophages in orchestrating intestinal wound healing. Since macrophages display significant plasticity and heterogeneity, exhibiting an either classically activated (M1-like) or alternatively activated (M2-like) phenotype, they can aggravate or attenuate intestinal wound healing. Growing evidence also demonstrates a causal link between impaired mucosal healing in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and defects in the polarization of pro-resolving macrophages.

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Objectives: Treating infected or chronic wounds burdened with biofilms still is a major challenge in medical care. Healing-stimulating factors lose their efficacy due to bacterial degradation, and antimicrobial substances negatively affect dermal cells. Therefore, alternative treatment approaches like the pulsed low intensity laser therapy (LILT) require consideration.

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Farnesyltransferase inhibitors (FTIs) are focus for the treatment of several diseases, particularly in the field of cancer therapy. Their potential, however, goes even further, as a number of studies have evaluated FTIs for the treatment of infectious diseases such as malaria, African sleeping sickness, leishmaniosis, and hepatitis D virus infection. Little is known about protein prenylation mechanisms in human pathogens.

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Objectives: A major problem for wound healing is contamination with bacteria, often resulting in biofilm formation and wound infection, which, in turn, needs immediate intervention such as surgical debridement and through irrigation. A topical treatment with cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAP) for wound disinfection may present an alternative and less painful approach.

Methods: This study investigated the antibacterial effects of a cold atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet (kINPen® MED) as a CAP source, using the three-dimensional Staphylococcus aureus immunocompetent biofilm system hpBIOM in addition to a standard planktonic test.

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Biofilms pose a relevant factor for wound healing impairment in chronic wounds. With 78% of all chronic wounds being affected by biofilms, research in this area is of high priority, especially since data for evidence-based selection of appropriate antimicrobials and antiseptics is scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-biofilm efficacy of commercially available hypochlorous wound irrigation solutions compared to established antimicrobials.

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Background: The number of patients who has a daily intake of antihypertensive drugs is rising, due to an also rising prevalence of lifestyle diseases. Interestingly, knowledge about effects of these drugs in terms of wound healing is low.

Objective: Based on a few differing studies, the idea arose that antihypertensives may have side effects on wound healing.

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Background:  Sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) is a bioactive lysosphingolipid and a constituent of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) exerting several atheroprotective effects in vitro. However, the few studies addressing anti-atherogenic effects of S1P in vivo have led to disparate results. We here examined atherosclerosis development in low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R)-deficient (LDL-R) mice with elevated endogenous S1P levels.

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Wound healing is a complex and dynamic process with different distinct and overlapping phases from homeostasis, inflammation and proliferation to remodelling. Monitoring the healing response of injured tissue is of high importance for basic research and clinical practice. In traditional application, biological markers characterize normal and abnormal wound healing.

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The retina represents an ideal model system for studying developmental processes during morphogenesis. The knowledge of the precise regulation and combination of genetic pre-dispositions and environmental circumstances enables the understanding of pathologies and the subsequent development or/and improvement of therapeutic strategies. This study focused on the functional analysis of the extracellular matrix (ECM) molecule Tenascin C (Tnc) in the retinal stem/progenitor cell environment.

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The regulation of protein phosphorylation plays an essential role in virtually all aspects of eukaryotic development. Beginning with the regulation of the cell cycle to cellular proliferation and differentiation, the delicate balance between the phosphorylating activity of kinases and the dephosphorylation by phosphatases controls the outcome of many signal transduction cascades. The generation of cellular diversity occurs in an environment that is structured by the extracellular matrix (ECM) which forms a surrounding niche for stem and progenitor cells.

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