Disinfection of transboundary animal disease viruses on surfaces used in pork packing plants.

In the event of an intentional or accidental incursion of a transboundary animal disease (TAD) virus into the US, a major concern to the meat industry would be the potential contamination of packing plants by processing infected animals. TAD agents such as foot and mouth disease virus (FMDV), African swine fever virus (ASFV) and classical swine fever virus (CSFV) are found in swine products such as blood and feces and are present in the tissues of infected animals. To test the disinfection of TAD viruses in a pork-packing environment, a previously developed disinfection assay was used to test two biocides currently used by industry sanitarians, against TAD viruses dried on industry relevant surfaces in saline or swine products.

Everolimus-eluting stents improve vascular response in a diabetic animal model.

Background: Preclinical evaluation of the vascular response of drug-eluting stents is limited especially in the setting of diabetes mellitus preventing the evaluation of changes in drug-eluting stent design and eluted drugs after clinical use.

Methods And Results: Cultured human aortic endothelial cells were used to assess the differences between sirolimus and its analog, everolimus, in the setting of hyperglycemia on various cellular functions necessary for endothelial recovery. A diabetic rabbit model of iliac artery stenting was used to compare histological and morphometric characteristics of the vascular response to everolimus-eluting, sirolimus-eluting, and bare metal stent placement.

Metformin impairs vascular endothelial recovery after stent placement in the setting of locally eluted mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitors via S6 kinase-dependent inhibition of cell proliferation.

Objectives: This study sought to examine the effect of oral metformin (Mf) therapy on endothelialization in the setting of drug-eluting stents (DES).

Background: Mf is a commonly used therapy in diabetic patients receiving DES. Mf and locally eluted mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors used in DES have convergent molecular signaling; however, the impact of this drug interaction on stent endothelialization is unknown.

Hemoglobin directs macrophage differentiation and prevents foam cell formation in human atherosclerotic plaques.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine selective macrophage differentiation occurring in areas of intraplaque hemorrhage in human atherosclerosis.

Background: Macrophage subsets are recognized in atherosclerosis, but the stimulus for and importance of differentiation programs remain unknown.

Methods: We used freshly isolated human monocytes, a rabbit model, and human atherosclerotic plaques to analyze macrophage differentiation in response to hemorrhage.

Pharmacological suppression of hepcidin increases macrophage cholesterol efflux and reduces foam cell formation and atherosclerosis.

Objective: We recently reported that lowering of macrophage free intracellular iron increases expression of cholesterol efflux transporters ABCA1 and ABCG1 by reducing generation of reactive oxygen species. In this study, we explored whether reducing macrophage intracellular iron levels via pharmacological suppression of hepcidin can increase macrophage-specific expression of cholesterol efflux transporters and reduce atherosclerosis.

Methods And Results: To suppress hepcidin, increase expression of the iron exporter ferroportin, and reduce macrophage intracellular iron, we used a small molecule inhibitor of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling, LDN 193189 (LDN).

Differential healing after sirolimus, paclitaxel, and bare metal stent placement in combination with peroxisome proliferator-activator receptor gamma agonists: requirement for mTOR/Akt2 in PPARgamma activation.

Rationale: Sirolimus-eluting coronary stents (SESs) and paclitaxel-eluting coronary stents (PESs) are used to reduce restenosis but have different sites of action. The molecular targets of sirolimus overlap with those of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)gamma agonist rosiglitazone (RSG) but the consequence of this interaction on endothelialization is unknown.

Objective: Using the New Zealand white rabbit iliac model of stenting, we examined the effects of RSG on SESs, PESs, and bare metal stents endothelialization.