Nanomechanical probing of bacterial adhesion to biodegradable Zn alloys.

Bacterial infections on implants cause an inflammatory response and even implant failure. Bacterial adhesion is an initial and critical step during implant infection. The prevention of bacterial adhesion to implant materials has attracted much attention, especially for biodegradable metals. A deep understanding of the mechanisms of bacterial adhesion to biodegradable metals is urgently needed. In this work, a bacterial probe based on atomic force spectroscopy was employed to determine the bacterial adhesion to Zn alloy, which depended on surface charge, roughness, and wettability. Negative surface charges of Zn, Zn-0.5Li, and 316L generated electrostatic repulsion force towards bacteria. The surface roughness of Zn-0.5Li was significantly increased by localized corrosion. Bacterial adhesion forces on Zn, Zn-0.5Li, and 316L were 325.2 pN, 519.1 pN, and 727.7 pN, respectively. The density of attached bacteria (early-stage bacterial adhesion) on these samples exhibited a positive correlation with the bacterial adhesion force. The bacterial adhesion force and adhesion work provide a quantitative determination of the interactions between bacteria and biodegradable alloys. These results provide a deeper understanding of early bacterial adhesion on Zn alloys, which can further guide the antibacterial surface design of biodegradable materials for clinical application.

Long-lasting neurobehavioral alterations in burn-injured mice resembling post-traumatic stress disorder in humans.

OBJECTIVE: To establish an animal model for posttraumatic stress disorder in burn-injured patients. METHODS: Thermal-injured mice with 15% total body surface area were subjected to a series of neurobehavioral tests at 1 and 3 months postburn. Brains were collected for analysis of key molecules expression, spleens for T cell function analysis, and blood for biochemistry and hormones detection. RESULTS: Comparison with sham mice, burn mice showed extremely high locomotion in homecage, open field, and forced swimming tests, indicating a hyper-arousal state. Burn mice exhibited improved spatial memory in Morris Water Maze test and heightened context fear memory in context fear conditioning, suggesting re-experiencing behavior. Although burn mice showed pronounced passive avoidance in the step-through test, their active avoidance capability in response to the conditional stimulus in the shuttle box test was relatively deteriorated. Likewise, the retention of cue-feared memory was impaired in fear conditioning test. The above negative alterations in mood were recapitulated in open-field test, in which the burn mice displayed an anxiety-like behavior with less time spent in the center. However, no sign of depression was found in the forced swimming and sucrose preference tests. The negative mood of burn mice was reinforced by a deficit in sociality and preference for social novelty in social interaction test. These neurobehavioral alterations were associated with an increased expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor along with a remarkable microgliosis and a moderate astrocytosis in the brain of burn vs. sham mice. Moreover, a prominent Th2 switch and consequent increased nuclear NF-κB translocation were seen in the splenic T cells from burn relative to sham mice. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that even mild burn injury could lead to long-lasting cognitive and effective alterations in mice. These findings shed light on the interactions among neuropsychology, neurobiology, and immunology throughout the recovery period of burn injury.

Corrosion resistance and antibacterial properties of hydroxyapatite coating induced by gentamicin-loaded polymeric multilayers on magnesium alloys.

As a result of their good biocompatibility, bioactivity, and mechanical properties, magnesium (Mg) alloys have received considerable attention as next generation biodegradable implants. Herein, in order to achieve a proper degradation rate and good antibacterial ability, we reported a novel hydroxyapatite coating induced by gentamicin (GS)-loaded polymeric multilayers for the surface treatment of the Mg alloy. The coating was characterized by X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The as-prepared hydroxyapatite coating showed the compact morphology and a well-crystallized apatite structure. This coating could improve the adhesion strength and reduce the corrosion rate of the substrate in simulated body fluid solution. Meanwhile, the drug release and antibacterial experiments demonstrated that the GS loaded specimen revealed a significant antimicrobial performance toward Staphylococcus aureus and had a prolonged release profile of GS, which would be helpful to the long-term bactericidal activity of the Mg implant. This coating showed acceptable biocompatibility via MTT assay and Live/dead staining. Thus, the multilayers-hydroxyapatite coated Mg alloy could improve the corrosion resistance and biocompatibility while delivering vital drugs to the site of implantation.

Exendin-4 Exacerbates Burn-Induced Morbidity in Mice by Activation of the Sympathetic Nervous System.

BACKGROUND: Although glucagon-like peptide 1- (GLP-1-) based therapy of hyperglycemia in burn injury has shown great potential in clinical trials, its safety is seldom evaluated. We hypothesize that exendin-4, a GLP-1 analogue, might affect the immune response via the activation of the sympathetic nervous system in burn injury. METHODS: Male Balb/c mice were subjected to sham or thermal injury of 15% total body surface area. Exendin-4 on T cell function in vitro was examined in cultured splenocytes in the presence of ß-adrenoceptor antagonist propranolol (1 nmol/L) or GLP-1R antagonist exendin (9-39) (1 µmol/L), whereas its in vivo effect was determined by i.p. injection of exendin-4 (2.4 nmol/kg) in mice. To further elucidate the sympathetic mechanism, propranolol (30 mg/kg) or vehicle was applied 30 min prior to injury. RESULTS: Although the exacerbated burn-induced mortality by exendin-4 was worsened by propranolol pretreatment, the inhibition of T cell proliferation by exendin-4 in vitro could be restored by propranolol instead of exendin (9-39). However, a Th2 switch by exendin-4 in vitro could only be reversed by exendin (9-39). Likewise, the inhibition of splenic T cell function and NFAT activity by exendin-4 in vivo was restored by propranolol. By contrast, the increased splenic NF-κB translocation by exendin-4 in vivo was potentiated by propranolol in sham mice but suppressed in burn mice. Accordingly, propranolol abrogated the heightened inflammatory response in the lung and the accelerated organ injuries by exendin-4 in burn mice. On the contrary, a Th2 switch and higher serum levels of inflammatory mediators by exendin-4 were potentiated by propranolol in burn mice. Lastly, exendin-4 raised serum stress hormones which could be remarkably augmented by propranolol. CONCLUSIONS: Exendin-4 suppresses T cell function and promotes organ inflammation through the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, while elicits Th2 switch via GLP-1R in burn injury.

Rosiglitazone Reduces Apoptosis and Inflammation in Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells.

BACKGROUND Although the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-g (PPARg) agonist rosiglitazone has significant anti-inflammatory properties, no scientific studies have provided new insights in its pharmacological properties with respect to acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). The present investigation aimed to evaluate whether rosiglitazone can reduce apoptosis and inflammation in a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome in vitro model. MATERIAL AND METHODS Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with 1 µg/ml LPS in the absence or presence of 10 µM rosiglitazone for 24 h. Cell viability was measured by MTT assay. Flow cytometry was used to examine the cell apoptosis and ROS production in HUVECs response to LPS and rosiglitazone. The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine factors, including TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL12, and CXCR4, were measured by ELISA, real-time PCR, and Western blot assay, respectively. The expression of PPARg, Bcl-2, and Bax and the activity of JAK2 and STAT3 were also investigated by Western blot assay. RESULTS We found that rosiglitazone significantly inhibited LPS-induced cell apoptosis, ROS production, and inflammation in HUVECs. Furthermore, we found a significant reduction of JAK2/STAT3 activation and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in LPS-induced HUVECs response to rosiglitazone treatment. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with rosiglitazone can reduce apoptosis and inflammation in HUVECs induced by LPS.

Proinflammatory switch from Gαs to Gαi signaling by Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor in murine splenic monocyte following burn injury.

OBJECTIVE: Glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-based therapy via G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) GLP-1R, to attenuate hyperglycemia in critical care has attracted great attention. However, the exaggerated inflammation by GLP-1R agonist, Exendin-4, in a mouse model of burn injury was quite unexpected. Recent studies found that GPCR might elicit proinflammatory effects by switching from Gαs to Gαi signaling in the immune system. Thus, we aimed to investigate the possible Gαs to Gαi switch in GLP-1R signaling in monocyte following burn injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Splenic monocytes from sham and burn mice 24 h following burn injury were treated with consecutive doses of Exendin-4 alone or in combination with an inhibitor of Gαi signaling (pertussis toxin, PTX), or a blocker of protein kinase A (H89). Cell viability was assessed by CCK-8, and the supernatant was collected for cytokine measurement by ELISA. Intracellular cAMP level, phosphorylated PKA activity, and nuclear NF-κB p65 were determined by ELISA, ERK1/2 activation was analyzed by Western blot. The expression of GLP-1R downstream molecules, Gαs, Gαi and G-protein coupled receptor kinase 2 (GRK2) were examined by immunofluorescence staining and Western blot. RESULTS: Exendin-4 could inhibit the viability of monocyte from sham rather than burn mice. Unexpectedly, it could also reduce TNF-α secretion from sham monocyte while increase it from burn monocyte. The increased secretion of TNF-α by Exendin-4 from burn monocyte could be reversed by pretreatment of PTX or H89. Accordingly, Exendin-4 could stimulates cAMP production dose dependently from sham instead of burn monocyte. However, the blunt cAMP production from burn monocyte was further suppressed by pretreatment of PTX or H89 after 6-h incubation. Nevertheless, phosphorylated PKA activity was significantly increased by low dose of Exendin-4 in sham monocyte, by contrast, it was enhanced by high dose of Exendin-4 in burn monocyte after 1-h incubation. Following Exendin-4 treatment for 2 h ex vivo, total nuclear NF-κB and phosphorylated NF-κB activity, as well as cytoplasmic pERK1/2 expressions were reduced in sham monocyte, however, only pERK1/2 was increased by Exendin-4 in burn monocytes. Moreover, reduced expressions of GLP-1R, GRK-2 and Gαs in contrast with increased expression of Gαi were identified in burn monocyte relative to sham monocyte. CONCLUSIONS: This study presents an unexpected proinflammatory switch from Gαs to Gαi signaling in burn monocyte, which promotes ERK1/2 and NF-κB activation and the downstream TNF-α secretion. This phenomenon is most probably responsible for proinflammatory response evoked by Gαs agonist Exendin-4 following burn injury.

Association of SLC22A4 gene polymorphism with Rheumatoid arthritis in the Chinese population.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease with complex genetic factors. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the SLC22A4 gene have been previously reported to be associated with RA in Japanese but not European populations. This study further investigated the association of SLC22A4 polymorphisms, in particular slc2F1/slc2F2, with RA in the Chinese population, the largest Asian population. A total of 160 human subjects with 95 RA patients and 65 healthy controls were genotyped for slc2F1-G/A and slc2F2-C/T polymorphisms. The results showed that there was a significant difference in the genotype distribution of these two polymorphisms between the two groups. In addition, the presence of slc2F1 A allele and slc2F2 T allele carries a 1.93-fold and 2.14-fold increased risk for anticyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) positivity, respectively. Overall, this study provided evidence that SLC22A4 gene polymorphisms played important roles in the etiology of RA in the largest Asian population, the Chinese population.