Dermal Nanoemulsion Treatment Reduces Burn Wound Conversion and Improves Skin Healing in a Porcine Model of Thermal Burn Injury.

Burn wound progression is an inflammation-driven process where an initial partial-thickness thermal burn wound can evolve over time to a full-thickness injury. We have developed an oil-in-water nanoemulsion formulation (NB-201) containing benzalkonium chloride for use in burn wounds that is antimicrobial and potentially inhibits burn wound progression. We used a porcine burn injury model to evaluate the effect of topical nanoemulsion treatment on burn wound conversion and healing.

Short-wave infrared light imaging measures tissue moisture and distinguishes superficial from deep burns.

Existing clinical approaches and tools to measure burn tissue destruction are limited resulting in misdiagnosis of injury depth in over 40% of cases. Thus, our objective in this study was to characterize the ability of short-wave infrared (SWIR) imaging to detect moisture levels as a surrogate for tissue viability with resolution to differentiate between burns of various depths. To accomplish our aim, we constructed an imaging system consisting of a broad-band Tungsten light source; 1,200-, 1,650-, 1,940-, and 2,250-nm wavelength filters; and a specialized SWIR camera.

Molecular Characterization of Hypoxic Alveolar Epithelial Cells After Lung Contusion Indicates an Important Role for HIF-1α.

Objective: To understand the fate and regulation of hypoxic type II alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) after lung contusion (LC).

Background: LC due to thoracic trauma is a major risk factor for the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome. AECs have recently been implicated as a primary driver of inflammation in LC.

Toll-Like Receptor-9 (TLR9) is Requisite for Acute Inflammatory Response and Injury Following Lung Contusion.

Lung contusion (LC) is a significant risk factor for the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) recognizes specific unmethylated CpG motifs, which are prevalent in microbial but not vertebrate genomic DNA, leading to innate and acquired immune responses. TLR9 signaling has recently been implicated as a critical component of the inflammatory response following lung injury.

Nanoemulsion Therapy for Burn Wounds Is Effective as a Topical Antimicrobial Against Gram-Negative and Gram-Positive Bacteria.

The aim of this study is to investigate the antimicrobial efficacy of two different nanoemulsion (NE) formulations against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria in an in vivo rodent scald burn model. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and received a partial-thickness scald burn. Eight hours after burn injury, the wound was inoculated with 1 × 10(8) colony-forming units of Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus.

Interleukin 10 overexpression alters survival in the setting of gram-negative pneumonia following lung contusion.

Objective: Lung contusion injury produces a vulnerable window within the inflammatory defenses of the lung that predisposes the patient to pneumonia. Interleukin 10 (IL-10) is a known anti-inflammatory mediator produced by macrophages and capable of downregulating acute lung inflammation. We investigated the impact of increased levels of IL-10 within the lung on survival and the host response to trauma in the setting of lung contusion (LC) and gram-negative pneumonia.

Host susceptibility to gram-negative pneumonia after lung contusion.

Background: Lung contusion (LC) induces inflammation with high local concentrations of proinflammatory mediators stimulating chemotaxis and activation of neutrophils. LC is also a risk factor for development of pneumonia; however, the reason for this increased susceptibility is not clearly identified. We hypothesize that LC creates acute changes in the host pulmonary innate immune system that leads to vulnerability from a "second" hit bacterial infection.

Role of stem cell factor and bone marrow-derived fibroblasts in airway remodeling.

Recent evidence suggests that bone marrow-derived fibroblasts are involved in airway remodeling in asthma, but the role and mechanism of recruitment of these fibroblasts remains unclear. Stem cell factor (SCF), a key factor in the propagation of hematopoietic stem cells, is important in the process of airway remodeling as well. To test the hypothesis that SCF is involved in the recruitment and differentiation of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells, GFP-bone marrow chimeric mice were created.