Osteoidosis leads to altered differentiation and function of osteoclasts.

In patients with osteomalacia, a defect in bone mineralization leads to changed characteristics of the bone surface. Considering that the properties of the surrounding matrix influence function and differentiation of cells, we aimed to investigate the effect of osteoidosis on differentiation and function of osteoclasts. Based on osteomalacic bone biopsies, a model for osteoidosis in vitro (OIV) was established. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were differentiated to osteoclasts on mineralized surfaces (MS) as internal control and on OIV. We observed a significantly reduced number of osteoclasts and surface resorption on OIV. Atomic force microscopy revealed a significant effect of the altered degree of mineralization on surface mechanics and an unmasking of collagen fibres on the surface. Indeed, coating of MS with RGD peptides mimicked the resorption phenotype observed in OIV, suggesting that the altered differentiation of osteoclasts on OIV might be associated with an interaction of the cells with amino acid sequences of unmasked extracellular matrix proteins containing RGD sequences. Transcriptome analysis uncovered a strong significant up-regulation of transmembrane glycoprotein TROP2 in osteoclastic cultures on OIV. TROP2 expression on OIV was also confirmed on the protein level and found on the bone surface of patients with osteomalacia. Taken together, our results show a direct influence of the mineralization state of the extracellular matrix surface on differentiation and function of osteoclasts on this surface which may be important for the pathophysiology of osteomalacia and other bone disorders with changed ratio of osteoid to bone.

Rifampicin-fosfomycin coating for cementless endoprostheses: antimicrobial effects against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).

New strategies to decrease infection rates in cementless arthroplasty are needed, especially in the context of the growing incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The purpose of this study was to investigate the antimicrobial activity of a rifampicin-fosfomycin coating against methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and MRSA in a rabbit infection prophylaxis model. Uncoated or rifampicin-fosfomycin-coated K-wires were inserted into the intramedullary canal of the tibia in rabbits and contaminated with an inoculation dose of 10(5) or 10(6) colony-forming units of MSSA EDCC 5055 in study 1 and MRSA T6625930 in study 2, respectively. After 28days the animals were killed and clinical, histological and microbiological assessment, including pulse-field gel electrophoresis, was conducted. Positive culture growth in agar plate testing and/or clinical signs and/or histological signs were defined positive for infection. Statistical evaluation was performed using Fisher's exact test. Both studies showed a statistically significant reduction of infection rates for rifampicin-fosfomycin-coated implants compared to uncoated K-wires (P=0.015). In both studies none of the 12 animals that were treated with a rifampicin-fosfomycin-coated implant showed clinical signs of infection or a positive agar plate testing result. In both studies, one animal of the coating group showed the presence of sporadic bacteria with concomitant inflammatory signs in histology. The control groups in both studies exhibited an infection rate of 100% with clear clinical signs of infection and positive culture growth in all animals. In summary, the rifampicin-fosfomycin-coating showed excellent antimicrobial activity against both MSSA and MRSA, and therefore warrants further clinical testing.

Multilayer coatings on biomaterials for control of MG-63 osteoblast adhesion and growth.

Here, the layer-by-layer technique (LbL) was used to modify glass as model biomaterial with multilayers of chitosan and heparin to control the interaction with MG-63 osteoblast-like cells. Different pH values during multilayer formation were applied to control their physico-chemical properties. In the absence of adhesive proteins like plasma fibronectin (pFN) both plain layers were rather cytophobic. Hence, the preadsorption of pFN was used to enhance cell adhesion which was strongly dependent on pH. Comparing the adhesion promoting effects of pFN with an engineered repeat of the FN III fragment and collagen I which both lack a heparin binding domain it was found that multilayers could bind pFN specifically because only this protein was capable of promoting cell adhesion. Multilayer surfaces that inhibited MG-63 adhesion did also cause a decreased cell growth in the presence of serum, while an enhanced adhesion of cells was connected to an improved cell growth.

Surface modification of biomaterials to control adhesion of cells.

The layer-by-layer technique was used to build-up polyelectrolyte multilayers (PEMs) composed of heparin, an anionic glycosaminoglycan (GAG) and chitosan, a cationic biodegradable polysaccharide on model biomaterial surfaces. The surface coatings shall control adhesion of cells and thus their subsequent proliferation and differentiation. PEMs were characterized physicochemically by static contact angle and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) measurements. Variations in procedure parameters such as the pH value of the solutions were crucial to the formation process and surface properties in terms of wettability and mass increase. Cell-surface interactions were studied with human fibroblast on PEMs. It was found that the pH value of solutions had a strong impact on cell adhesion making surfaces extremely cytophobic or moderately cytophilic. Adsorption of fibronectin to the terminal heparin layer could be used to increase cell adhesion in a concentration-dependent manner.

Cloning, expression, purification, and characterization of a designer protein with repetitive sequences.

An artificial protein containing alternating hydrophilic-hydrophobic blocks of amino acids was designed in order to mimic the structure of synthetic multiblock copolymers. The hydrophobic block consisted of the six amino acids Ala Ile Leu Leu Ile Ile (AILLII) and the hydrophilic block of the eight amino acids Thr Ser Glu Asp Asp Asn Asn Gln (TSEDDNNQ). The coding DNA sequence of the cluster was inserted into an commercial pET 30a(+) vector using a two step strategy. The expression of the artificial protein in Escherichia coli was optimized using a temperature shift strategy. Only at cultivation temperature of 24 degrees C after induction expression was observed, whereas at 30 and 37 degrees C no target protein could be detected. Cells obtained from a 15L bioreactor cultivation of E. coli were disintegrated by mechanical methods. Interestingly, glass bead milling and high pressure homogenization resulted in a different solubility of the target protein. The further purification was carried out by affinity chromatography using the soluble homogenized protein. Extreme conditions (6M urea, 0.5M NaCl) were applied in order to prevent aggregation to insoluble particles. The designer protein showed an extremely high tendency to form dimers or trimers caused by intermolecular interactions which were even not broken under the conditions of SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, rendering the behavior during purification different from proteins usually found in nature. The protein preparation was not completely pure according to SDS-PAGE stained by Coomassie blue or silver. In MALDI-TOF-MS, nano-ESI qTOF-MS of the entire protein preparation and nano-ESI-MS after digestion by trypsin and chymotrypsin impurities were not detectable.