Urinary Tract Conditions Affect Fosfomycin Activity against Escherichia coli Strains Harboring Chromosomal Mutations Involved in Fosfomycin Uptake.

The steps by which Escherichia coli strains harboring mutations related to fosfomycin (FOS) resistance arise and spread during urinary tract infections (UTIs) are far from being understood. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of urine, pH, and anaerobiosis on FOS activity against a set of isogenic strains carrying the most prevalent chromosomal mutations conferring FOS resistance (ΔuhpT, ΔglpT, ΔcyaA, and ΔptsI), either singly or in combination. We also studied fosfomycin-resistant E. coli clinical isolates from patients with UTI. Our results demonstrate that urinary tract physiological conditions might have a profound impact on FOS activity against strains with chromosomal FOS resistance mutations. Specifically, acidic pH values and anaerobiosis convert most of the strains categorized as resistant to fosfomycin according to the international guidelines to a susceptible status. Therefore, urinary pH values may have practical interest in the management of UTIs. Finally, our results, together with the high fitness cost associated with FOS resistance mutations, might explain the low prevalence of fosfomycin-resistant E. coli variants in UTIs.

Adherence to prophylaxis and quality of life in children and adolescents with severe haemophilia A.

Treatment adherence in adolescents with chronic diseases is around 50%, and failure is more common in preventive therapy. In haemophilia, contradictory results are reported by the published studies. The objective of this study was to evaluate adherence with factor VIII (FVIII) prophylaxis in Spanish patients with severe haemophilia A between age 6 and 20 years. Data were collected retrosp-ectively in the previous 2 years. The primary endpoint was the absolute adherence index (AAI), and the endpoints were related to clinical status, age, prophylaxis regimen, responsibility for factor administration and quality of life (QoL), assessed by the Haemo-QoL questionnaires. A total of 78 patients from 14 Spanish hospitals were recruited. Adherence ranged between -64.4 and 66.7 (mean -3.08). No differences were observed between children and adolescents (7.11 vs. 6.39; P = 0.809). A statistically significant association (P < 0.010) between infra adherent group and target joint was found, as was a statistically significant difference (P < 0.010) between the number of bleeding episodes experienced by the adherent group (mean 1.4) and by infra adherents (mean 4.5). There was no significant difference between AAI and prophylactic regimen (6.35 vs. 6.96, P = 0.848), neither between AAI and the person responsible for factor administration (5.57 vs. 8.79, P = 0.326). The Haemo-QoL scores (8-12 years) were related to adherence level (P < 0.05). Adherence was approximately ideal and patients perceived a high QoL. Because of the repercussions for compliance, it is essential to work during puberty on emotional and self-acceptance aspects of the disease, as well as coping, and the patient's family, school and health team relationships.

Modeling the formation of cell-matrix adhesions on a single 3D matrix fiber.

Cell-matrix adhesions are crucial in different biological processes like tissue morphogenesis, cell motility, and extracellular matrix remodeling. These interactions that link cell cytoskeleton and matrix fibers are built through protein clutches, generally known as adhesion complexes. The adhesion formation process has been deeply studied in two-dimensional (2D) cases; however, the knowledge is limited for three-dimensional (3D) cases. In this work, we simulate different local extracellular matrix properties in order to unravel the fundamental mechanisms that regulate the formation of cell-matrix adhesions in 3D. We aim to study the mechanical interaction of these biological structures through a three dimensional discrete approach, reproducing the transmission pattern force between the cytoskeleton and a single extracellular matrix fiber. This numerical model provides a discrete analysis of the proteins involved including spatial distribution, interaction between them, and study of the different phenomena, such as protein clutches unbinding or protein unfolding.

Inhibitor development after switching of FVIII concentrate in multitransfused patients with severe haemophilia A.

Switching between different therapeutic FVIII concentrate types has been postulated as a possible cause of inhibitor development in patient with haemophilia A. In this single-centre, retrospective study, the incidence, titre and duration of inhibitor development in multitransfused patients, defined as patients with more than 150 exposure days (ED), were analysed from January 1970 to December 2007 in relation to ED and the number of switches between different products. Inhibitor titre was assessed by Bethesda assay (before 1998) or Nijmegen assay (after 1998). Medical records of 167 patients were screened, of which 97 patients met the inclusion criteria. Fourteen products of plasmatic origin (different purities) and five recombinant (three generations) were used. Nine patients (9%) developed inhibitors, all transient, low-titre (1.41 ± 0.54 BU) after 323 ± 287 ED in average. Seventeen patients had no product switches of which four patients (23%) developed inhibitors (97 ED in average), whereas 13 patients (77%) did not (ED: 230). Fifty patients switched between plasmatic products only (median: 10 changes) of which five patients (10%) developed inhibitors (ED: 503), whereas 45 patients did not (ED: 932). Five patients switched between recombinant products only (seven changes) of which no patient developed inhibitors (748 ED). Twenty-five patients switched between plasmatic and recombinant products (13 changes) of which no patient developed inhibitors (ED: 1654). No statistically significant differences between patient groups were observed. Neither the number of different FVIII products administered nor the switching of products influenced the incidence of inhibitor in multitransfused patients.

Secondary prophylaxis vs. on-demand treatment to improve quality of life in severe adult haemophilia A patients: a prospective study in a single centre.

BACKGROUND: Retrospective publications show a decrease in the bleeding frequency and an improvement in the quality of life (QoL) in severe adult haemophilia A (SAHA) after switching from the on-demand treatment (DT) to secondary prophylaxis (SP). But there are no prospective studies which demonstrate, using a haemophilia-specific questionnaire, an improvement in the QoL after such treatment change. The main objective of this study is to prospectively compare the QoL and the musculoskeletal assessment after switching from DT to SP in SAHA using the A36 Hemofilia-QoL(®) . As secondary objective, we compare the haemarthrosis frequency and factor VIII consumption in DT and SP during a similar period of time (12 months) after switching. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have designed a prospective study including SAHA who have been under DT and were changed to a protocol, which combines SP (biweekly administration of factor VIII) with individualized physiotherapy programme. RESULTS: Twelve months after switching to SP, the QoL was significantly improved (P = 0·005). Musculoskeletal assessment of pathologic irreversible joints and joints with a reversible alteration was generally improved, although in only a few joints, this improvement was statistically significant. Haemarthrosis was strongly reduced (12·60-1·42, P < 0·001). CONCLUSIONS: This prospective study has demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in the QoL after 1 year from switching patients from DT to SP. The musculoskeletal assessment after 1 year was maintained similar or slightly improved. When we compared retrospective DT and prospective SP, haemarthrosis where strongly reduced requiring a slight increase in the consumption of factor VIII concentrates.

Catheter-related Mycobacterium fortuitum bloodstream infection: rapid identification using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry.

We present the case of a 6-year-old boy diagnosed with stage III mediastinal Non Hodgkin Lymphoblastic T cell Lymphoma who suffered from catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBI) due to Mycobacterium fortuitum whilst receiving chemotherapy. Isolation of this rare pathogen was done directly from blood culture and identification was made rapidly within 48 h using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectro-metry as well as specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-reverse hybridization method. This allowed prompt directed antibiotic therapy apart from central venous catheter removal and resulted in an excellent clinical response. This case highlights the potential benefit of using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, a fast, cost-effective and precise methodology, in the diagnosis and subsequent management of invasive bacterial infection.

Exploring the potential of Physics-Informed Neural Networks to extract vascularization data from DCE-MRI in the presence of diffusion.

Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) is widely used to assess tissue vascularization, particularly in oncological applications. However, the most widely used pharmacokinetic (PK) models do not account for contrast agent (CA) diffusion between neighboring voxels, which can limit the accuracy of the results, especially in cases of heterogeneous tumors. To address this issue, previous works have proposed algorithms that incorporate diffusion phenomena into the formulation. However, these algorithms often face convergence problems due to the ill-posed nature of the problem. In this work, we present a new approach to fitting DCE-MRI data that incorporates CA diffusion by using Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs). PINNs can be trained to fit measured data obtained from DCE-MRI while ensuring the mass conservation equation from the PK model. We compare the performance of PINNs to previous algorithms on different 1D cases inspired by previous works from literature. Results show that PINNs retrieve vascularization parameters more accurately from diffusion-corrected tracer-kinetic models. Furthermore, we demonstrate the robustness of PINNs compared to other traditional algorithms when faced with noisy or incomplete data. Overall, our results suggest that PINNs can be a valuable tool for improving the accuracy of DCE-MRI data analysis, particularly in cases where CA diffusion plays a significant role.

Assessment of the thrombin generation assay in haemophilia: comparative study between fresh and frozen platelet-rich plasma.

The severity of haemophilia A has traditionally been classified by the dosage of factor VIII (FVIII) by one-step coagulation tests. However, an homogeneous group of patients with similar FVIII levels show clinical heterogeneity and 10-15% of the patients classified as severe haemophilia do not have a severe bleeding phenotype. Traditional tests used for measuring FVIII are not capable of detecting other prohaemorrhagic or prothrombotic factors. Global tests as the thrombin generation assay (TGA) may detect these haemostatic factors. So TGA may be an additional tool for classifying the actual severity of haemophilia. Our group is carrying out correlation tests between FVIII and TGA in platelet-poor and -rich plasmas (PPP and PRP, respectively). PRP has the inconvenience that must be done freshly soon after blood extraction. Our aim is to study the differences between TGA performed with fresh and frozen PRP and PPP and its implementation in multicenter studies. We included 70 patients with severe haemophilia A in prophylactic treatment. Venous blood drawing was obtained prior to administration of FVIII, at the trough levels. FVIII measurement and TGA were performed in fresh and frozen PRP and PPP. The platelet absence caused a significant decrease in TGA although PPP and PRP correlated well. Frozen samples gave different results in PPP, but there were no significant differences between fresh and frozen PRP. This fact enables using frozen PRP in multicenter studies with a TGA-specialized laboratory for reclassifying haemophilia severity and for pharmacokinetic studies with TGA.

Comparison of a new chemiluminescent immunoassay for von Willebrand factor activity with the ristocetin cofactor-induced platelet agglutination method.

Measuring von Willebrand factor (VWF) activity is essential for the diagnosis of von Willebrand disease (VWD). The VWF activity is usually assessed based on measurement of the ristocetin cofactor (VWF:RCo). However, that test is technically challenging and has high intra- and inter-assay variabilities. A new automated chemiluminescent immunoassay VWF activity has recently become commercially available (HemosIL AcuStar von Willebrand Factor Ristocetin Cofactor Activity). The main objective of this study was to evaluate this new method and to compare it with the VWF:RCo assay as the reference method. We studied 91 samples, 18 healthy volunteers samples and 73 samples from patients (VWF:RCo level <50 IU dL(-1) ): 29 type 1 VWD, 13 type 2A, 5 type 2B, 5 type 2M, 3 type 2N, 5 type 3, 4 type 3 under treatment, 5 type 3 carriers and 4 samples with other pathologies. The HemosIL AcuStar VWF:RCo assay was 96% sensitive and 100% specific for detecting VWF abnormalities. The good analytical performance, and the sensitivity and specificity of HemosIL AcuStar VWF:RCo to detect VWF deficiency renders it a suitable method for VWD screening.

Head-to-head comparison of the pharmacokinetic profiles of a high-purity factor IX concentrate (AlphaNine®) and a recombinant factor IX (BeneFIX®) in patients with severe haemophilia B.

Head-on comparative studies of factor IX (FIX) concentrates performed under standardized conditions are rarely conducted regardless of being a valuable instrument guiding health care providers towards better informed and cost-effective decisions. This study is an extension of a multicentre study that assessed the efficacy, safety and pharmacokinetics (PK) of AlphaNine(®) in 25 previously treated patients with severe haemophilia B (FIX:C ≤ 2%). After a washout period ≥ 7 days following the last PK performed with AlphaNine(®) after a dose of 65-75 IU kg(-1) , an identical PK study was performed with BeneFIX(®) on 22 of the same patients. Venous blood samples for analysis were taken at baseline and at 0.25, 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 9, 24, 48, 72 and 74 h post infusion. The outcomes of the comparison of the PK parameters were as follows: Mean (± SD) in vivo recovery (IVR) was 1.3 ± 0.4 IU dL(-1) per IU kg(-1) for AlphaNine(®) and 1.0 ± 0.3 IU dL(-1) per IU kg(-1) for BeneFIX(®) (P < 0.01). Mean terminal half-life, mean residence time, area under the curve, clearance and volume of distribution of BeneFIX(®) were 36.0 ± 12.8 h, 39.3 ± 13.9 h, 1631 ± 467 IU h dL(-1) , 0.046 ± 0.01 dL kg(-1) min(-1) and 1.75 ± 0.52 mL kg(-1) respectively. These values were not significantly different to those observed in AlphaNine(®), although BeneFIX(®) displayed higher than expected IVR values and lower than expected clearance values. In conclusion, AlphaNine(®) showed a comparable half-life, but an IVR significantly higher than that of BeneFIX(®). This dissimilarity may have implications on dosing requirements for on-demand treatment regimes affecting optimal resource allocation.

A multiscale orchestrated computational framework to reveal emergent phenomena in neuroblastoma.

Neuroblastoma is a complex and aggressive type of cancer that affects children. Current treatments involve a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and stem cell transplantation. However, treatment outcomes vary due to the heterogeneous nature of the disease. Computational models have been used to analyse data, simulate biological processes, and predict disease progression and treatment outcomes. While continuum cancer models capture the overall behaviour of tumours, and agent-based models represent the complex behaviour of individual cells, multiscale models represent interactions at different organisational levels, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the system. In 2018, the PRIMAGE consortium was formed to build a cloud-based decision support system for neuroblastoma, including a multi-scale model for patient-specific simulations of disease progression. In this work we have developed this multi-scale model that includes data such as patient's tumour geometry, cellularity, vascularization, genetics and type of chemotherapy treatment, and integrated it into an online platform that runs the simulations on a high-performance computation cluster using Onedata and Kubernetes technologies. This infrastructure will allow clinicians to optimise treatment regimens and reduce the number of costly and time-consuming clinical trials. This manuscript outlines the challenging framework's model architecture, data workflow, hypothesis, and resources employed in its development.

Kinetics of the interaction between anti-FVIII antibodies and FVIII from therapeutic concentrates, with and without von Willebrand factor, assessed by surface plasmon resonance.

The presence of VWF in plasma-derived FVIII (pdFVIII/VWF) products has been pointed out as a key difference with recombinant FVIII (rFVIII) products with regard to immunogenicity. A Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) study was designed to characterize in detail the interaction between anti-FVIII (IgGs) from a severe haemophilia A patient, and FVIII from concentrates of different sources. Full-length rFVIII (preincubated or not with purified VWF), B domain-deleted (BDD)-rFVIII and pdFVIII/VWF were analysed. To ensure reproducible conditions for accurate determination of kinetic constants, a capture-based assay format was developed using protein G surfaces for specific and reversible coupling of endogenous anti-FVIII antibodies. Concentration ranges (nm) of FVIII products tested were 9-0.03 (rFVIII) and 6-0.024 (pdFVIII/VWF). The association with antibodies was monitored for 3-5 min, whereas dissociation of the complex was followed for 5-20-240 min. A strong interaction of rFVIII and BDD-rFVIII with patient's IgG was detected with the K (D) values in the low picomolar range (5.9 ± 3.0 and 12.7 ± 6.9 pm, respectively) and very slow dissociation rates, while pdFVIII/VWF showed only marginal binding signals. The VWF complexed rFVIII displayed reduced binding signals compared with uncomplexed rFVIII, but the K (D) was still in the picomolar range (4.1 ± 1.9 pm) indicating insufficient complex formation. rFVIII, alone or bound to exogenously added VWF, showed high affinity for anti-FVIII IgGs from a severe haemophilia A patient whereas pdFVIII/VWF did not. These results are in agreement with those studies that point towards rFVIII concentrates to be more immunogenic than pdFVIII concentrates.

Is on-demand treatment effective in patients with severe haemophilia?

On-demand therapy enables stopping haemorrhages rapidly, reducing joint pain and restoring joint mobility, but does not prevent the beginning and subsequent development of haemophilic arthropathy. The main objective of this study was to identify the clinical and orthopaedic status of severe haemophilic patients with bleeding phenotype receiving on-demand treatment in Spain. We conducted an epidemiological, observational, retrospective study, recruiting 167 patients from 36 centres (92% of them with haemophilia A), median age at enrolment of 35 years. Forty per cent of the patients received a combination of on-demand and short-term prophylaxis regimen; the rest was under on-demand treatment. One hundred and forty-five patients (87%) reported at least one bleeding episode and 22 (13%) of the biologically severe patients had no bleeding phenotype. Seventy-one per cent of the studied population presented established haemophilic arthropathy, reaching 80% if we exclude patients without bleeding phenotype. Forty-three per cent of these patients had one or two joints affected, 28% of them had three or four affected joints, 20% reported five or six affected joints and 9% more than six injured joints. An increase in established haemophilic arthropathy with age was observed. Forty-six patients underwent orthopaedic surgery at least once. These data show that on-demand therapy is not effective in preventing the development of haemophilic arthropathy in severe haemophilic population with bleeding phenotype. Therefore, we suggest that the optimal treatment in these patients should be based on prophylaxis. We recommend analysing the reasons for ending prophylaxis, in case its reinstatement should be necessary.

Piezoelectricity could predict sites of formation/resorption in bone remodelling and modelling.

We have developed a mathematical approach for modelling the piezoelectric behaviour of bone tissue in order to evaluate the electrical surface charges in bone under different mechanical conditions. This model is able to explain how bones change their curvature, where osteoblasts or osteoclasts could detect in the periosteal/endosteal surfaces the different electrical charges promoting bone formation or resorption. This mechanism also allows to understand the BMU progression in function of the electro-mechanical bone behaviour.

Epithelioid angiomyolipoma presenting as an urothelial.

OBJECTIVE: Renal angiomyolipoma is a mesenchymal neoplasm composed of dysmorphic blood vessels, smooth muscle, and adipose tissue. Epithelioidangiomyolipoma is an uncommon variant considered potentially malignant. We report a case of renal epithelioid angiomyolipoma suspicious for urothelialcarcinoma of renal pelvis. METHODS: A 50-year-old woman with a 3-day history of macroscopic hematuria and CT-scan showing a tumor arising from the left renal pelvis suspicious for urothelialcarcinoma. Nephrectomy was analysed in multiple slides of hematoxilin-eosin and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Left nephrectomy was performed. Tumor sized 8 cm and showed pathologic findings of epithelioid angiomyolipoma with a little component of classic angiomyolipoma. We studied differential diagnosis and pathologic characteristics for the prognosis. CONCLUSIONS: Pathologic study in detail is fundamental for differential diagnosis and prognosis of this tumor. Our patient's pathology showed good prognosis, however follow-up is important due the malignant potential of the neoplasm.

Possible clinical usefulness of embryonic stem cells.

Are embryonic stem cells being used for therapeutic purposes? The aim of this short report is to review to what extent are embryonic stem cells currently used for therapeutic purposes. To the best of our knowledge, only four clinical trials have been authorised so far to use human embryonic stem cells for therapeutic purposes; two of these are included in the ClinicalTrials.gov data base, and the other two, the study sponsored by Geron and the last one initiated by Advanced Cell Technology in the United Kingdom, are not. But, in addition, Geron withdrew the clinical trial which had been originally proposed by the company itself. This brief review focuses the debate on the use of embryonic stem cells in human cell therapy. To the best of our knowledge, only three trials are ongoing with therapeutic purposes thus far, with not all of them having begun to include patients, and of course without any of them yet having obtained evaluable clinical results.

Mechano-sensing and cell migration: a 3D model approach.

Cell migration is essential for tissue development in different physiological and pathological conditions. It is a complex process orchestrated by chemistry, biological factors, microstructure and surrounding mechanical properties. Focusing on the mechanical interactions, cells do not only exert forces on the matrix that surrounds them, but they also sense and react to mechanical cues in a process called mechano-sensing. Here, we hypothesize the involvement of mechano-sensing in the regulation of directional cell migration through a three-dimensional (3D) matrix. For this purpose, we develop a 3D numerical model of individual cell migration, which incorporates the mechano-sensing process of the cell as the main mechanism regulating its movement. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that factors, such as substrate stiffness, boundary conditions and external forces, regulate specific and distinct cell movements.

A clinical study assessing the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of AlphaNine(®) , a high-purity factor IX concentrate, in patients with severe haemophilia B.

Effective treatment with factor IX (FIX) requires a thorough consideration of the properties of the concentrate to be used as replacement therapy, to date, the only available treatment for haemophilia B. The aim of the study was to determine the pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy and safety in routine clinical use of AlphaNine(®) , a high-purity human FIX concentrate. This open, single-arm, multicentre, non-randomized trial included 25 subjects (age ≥ 12) with moderate/severe haemophilia B. Pharmacokinetics was assessed at baseline and after a 6-month follow-up. The degree of haemostasis control achieved was evaluated during a 12-month follow-up. Safety was evaluated in terms of tolerance, thrombogenicity, immunogenicity and viral safety. Mean recovery was 1.01 ± 0.19 IU dL(-1) per IU kg(-1) at baseline and 1.23 ± 0.34 IU dL(-1) per IU kg(-1) 6 months later. Terminal half-life was 34.5 ± 6.2 h and 33.7 ± 5.4 h, respectively. Ratios of each parameter between the two pharmacokinetic studies were all close to 1. A total of 1,576,890 IU AlphaNine(®) were administered in 889 infusions (mean dose per infusion: 1774 IU; 3.2 infusions per month per patient). The main reasons for infusion were mild/moderate bleeding (62.3%) and prophylaxis (20.5% continuous, 15.6% intermittent). Overall, 93.0% of the efficacy assessments were rated as excellent/good and 88.8% of bleedings resolved after the first infusion. Twenty-one adverse events were reported in eight patients, none of which was considered related to the study medication. AlphaNine(®) showed a pharmacokinetic profile in agreement with that of other plasma-derived FIX concentrates and provides safe and clinically effective substitution therapy for patients with haemophilia B.

Joint protection in haemophilia.

Haemarthroses (intra-articular haemorrhages) are a frequent finding typically observed in patients with haemophilia. Diagnosis and treatment of these bleeding episodes must be delivered as early as possible. Additionally, treatment should ideally be administered intensively (enhanced on-demand treatment) until the resolution of symptoms. Joint aspiration plays an important role in acute and profuse haemarthroses as the presence of blood in the joint leads to chondrocyte apoptosis and chronic synovitis, which will eventually result in joint degeneration (haemophilic arthropathy). Ultrasonography (US) is an appropriate diagnostic technique to assess the evolution of acute haemarthrosis in haemophilia, although magnetic resonance imaging remains the gold standard as far as imaging techniques are concerned. Some patients experience subclinical haemarthroses, which eventually tend to result in some degree of arthropathy, especially in the ankles. Nowadays, the most effective way of protecting these patients is primary prophylaxis, which in practice changes severe haemophilia into moderate haemophilia, preventing or at least minimizing the occurrence of haemarthrosis. If primary prophylaxis is, for whatever reason not an option, secondary prophylaxis and enhanced on demand treatment should be considered. Two alternatives are available for inhibitor patients: (i) control of haemostasis using by-passing agents (rFVIIa or aPCCs) either as enhanced on demand treatment or secondary prophylaxis, as appropriate, following the same basic principles used for non-inhibitor patients and (ii) immune tolerance induction (ITI) to eradicate the inhibitor.