Mussel-Inspired Catechol Functionalisation as a Strategy to Enhance Biomaterial Adhesion: A Systematic Review.

Biomaterials have long been explored in regenerative medicine strategies for the repair or replacement of damaged organs and tissues, due to their biocompatibility, versatile physicochemical properties and tuneable mechanical cues capable of matching those of native tissues. However, poor adhesion under wet conditions (such as those found in tissues) has thus far limited their wider application. Indeed, despite its favourable physicochemical properties, facile gelation and biocompatibility, gellan gum (GG)-based hydrogels lack the tissue adhesiveness required for effective clinical use.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of a bioinspired, tissue-adhesive gellan gum-based hydrogel designed for minimally invasive delivery and retention of chondrogenic cells.

A dopamine-modified, bioinspired gellan gum hydrogel (STM-148B) with improved physicochemical and biological characteristics, suitable for minimally invasive cell delivery and retention in the context of cartilage repair, is herein presented. STM-148B's putative game-changing design characteristics include a highly biocompatible, animal-free and chemically defined composition, reproducibility of manufacture and ease of formulation. STM-148B undergoes rapid ionic crossinking by physiologically relevant mono and divalent cations to form stable 3D hydrogels that possess excellent tissue adhesiveness, such that additional fixation aids are rendered superfluous.

Antiplatelet therapy abrogates platelet-assisted Staphylococcus aureus infectivity of biological heart valve conduits.

Objective: Although recent advances in pulmonary valve replacement have enabled excellent hemodynamics, infective endocarditis remains a serious complication, particularly for implanted bovine jugular vein (BJV) conduits.

Methods: We investigated contributions by platelets and plasma fibrinogen to endocarditis initiation on various grafts used for valve replacement. Thus, adherence of Staphylococcus aureus and platelets to 5 graft tissues was studied quantitatively in perfusion chambers, assisted by microscopic analysis.

Enhanced microfracture using acellular scaffolds improves results after treatment of symptomatic focal grade III/IV knee cartilage lesions but current clinical evidence does not allow unequivocal recommendation.

Purpose: To systematically analyse post-operative outcomes following enhanced microfracture procedures in focal cartilage injuries of the knee.

Methods: Database searches were conducted in PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases up to 30 November 2018, for clinical studies in humans that assessed surgical outcomes of enhanced microfracture procedures in focal cartilage injuries of the knee. The clinical, functional and imaging outcomes were assessed and summarized.

An In Vitro Model of a Parallel-Plate Perfusion System to Study Bacterial Adherence to Graft Tissues.

Various valved conduits and stent-mounted valves are used for right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) valve replacement in patients with congenital heart disease. When using prosthetic materials however, these grafts are susceptible to bacterial infections and various host responses. Identification of bacterial and host factors that play a vital role in endovascular adherence of microorganisms is of importance to better understand the pathophysiology of the onset of infections such as infective endocarditis (IE) and to develop preventive strategies.

Clinical Characteristics of Infective Endocarditis in Children.

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) remains a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge associated with high morbidity and mortality. We evaluated the microbial profile and clinical manifestation of IE in children.

Methods: A retrospective study examining pediatric IE cases treated between 2000 and 2017 at the Department of Pediatric Cardiology, KU Leuven, was conducted.

Marginal role of von Willebrand factor-binding protein and coagulase in the initiation of endocarditis in rats with catheter-induced aortic vegetations.

Staphylococcus aureus is the leading cause of infective endocarditis (IE). While the role of S. aureus cell-wall associated protein clumping factor A (ClfA) in promoting IE has been already demonstrated, that of the secreted plasma-clotting factors staphylocoagulase (Coa) and von Willebrand factor-binding protein (vWbp) has not yet been elucidated.

Assessment of the Dual Role of Clumping Factor A in S. Aureus Adhesion to Endothelium in Absence and Presence of Plasma.

Adhesion of to endothelial cells (ECs) is paramount in infective endocarditis. Bacterial proteins such as clumping factor A (ClfA) and fibronectin binding protein A (FnbpA) mediate adhesion to EC surface molecules and (sub)endothelial matrix proteins including fibrinogen (Fg), fibrin, fibronectin (Fn) and von Willebrand factor (vWF). We studied the influence of shear flow and plasma on the binding of ClfA and FnbpA (including its sub-domains A, A, ABC, CD) to coverslip-coated vWF, Fg/fibrin, Fn or confluent ECs, making use of , expressing these adhesins heterologously.

Bacterial adherence to graft tissues in static and flow conditions.

Background: Various conduits and stent-mounted valves are used as pulmonary valve graft tissues for right ventricular outflow tract reconstruction with good hemodynamic results. Valve replacement carries an increased risk of infective endocarditis (IE). Recent observations have increased awareness of the risk of IE after transcatheter implantation of a stent-mounted bovine jugular vein valve.

Shear-Resistant Binding to von Willebrand Factor Allows Staphylococcus lugdunensis to Adhere to the Cardiac Valves and Initiate Endocarditis.

Background: Staphylococcus lugdunensis is an emerging cause of endocarditis. To cause endovascular infections, S. lugdunensis requires mechanisms to overcome shear stress.

Aspirin plus ticlopidine prevented experimental endocarditis due to Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus gallolyticus.

Enterococcus faecalis and Streptococcus gallolyticus cause infective endocarditis (IE), which can originate from the continuous release or translocation of low bacterial numbers into the bloodstream. In this context, IE cannot be prevented with antibiotics. We previously demonstrated that aspirin plus ticlopidine protected rats from IE due to S.

Migraine treatment: a chain of adverse effects.

This clinical vignette presents a 14 years old female, with a past medical history relevant only for migraine with typical aura of less than monthly frequency, complaining of a severe unilateral headache with rising intensity for the previous 4 h, associated with nausea, vomiting, photophobia and phonophobia. This episode of migraine with aura in a patient with recurrent migraine was complicated by side effects of medical diagnostic and therapeutic procedures (extrapyramidal symptoms, delirium, post-lumbar puncture headache, hospital admission) all of which could have been prevented-quaternary prevention. This case illustrates several important messages in migraine management: (1) use of acetaminophen is not based in high-quality evidence and better options exist; (2) among youngsters, domperidone should be preferred over metoclopramide because it does not cross the blood-brain barrier; (3) moderate to severe migraine crisis can be managed with triptans in teenagers over 12 years old; (4) it is important to recognize adverse drug effects; (5) harmful consequences of medical interventions do occur; (6) the school community must be informed about chronic diseases of the young.

Vaccination against Staphylococcus aureus experimental endocarditis using recombinant Lactococcus lactis expressing ClfA or FnbpA.

Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of serious infections in humans and animals and a vaccine is becoming a necessity. Lactococcus lactis is a non-pathogenic bacterium that can be used as a vector for the delivery of antigens. We investigated the ability of non-living L.

In vivo effect of flucloxacillin in experimental endocarditis caused by mecC-positive staphylococcus aureus showing temperature-dependent susceptibility in vitro.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carrying the mecC gene (mecC-MRSA) exhibited at 37°C MICs of oxacillin close to those of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA). We investigated whether at this temperature, mecC-MRSA strains respond to flucloxacillin treatment like MSSA strains, using a rat model of endocarditis.

Prophylaxis of experimental endocarditis with antiplatelet and antithrombin agents: a role for long-term prevention of infective endocarditis in humans?

Background: Infective endocarditis (IE) mostly occurs after spontaneous low-grade bacteremia. Thus, IE cannot be prevented by circumstantial antibiotic prophylaxis. Platelet activation following bacterial-fibrinogen interaction or thrombin-mediated fibrinogen-fibrin polymerization is a critical step in vegetation formation.

Streptococcus tigurinus is highly virulent in a rat model of experimental endocarditis.

Streptococcus tigurinus is responsible for systemic infections in humans including infective endocarditis. We investigated whether the invasive trait of S. tigurinus in humans correlated with an increased ability to induce IE in rats.

Use of a human-like low-grade bacteremia model of experimental endocarditis to study the role of Staphylococcus aureus adhesins and platelet aggregation in early endocarditis.

Animal models of infective endocarditis (IE) induced by high-grade bacteremia revealed the pathogenic roles of Staphylococcus aureus surface adhesins and platelet aggregation in the infection process. In humans, however, S. aureus IE possibly occurs through repeated bouts of low-grade bacteremia from a colonized site or intravenous device.