Search

The biochemical and physical properties of a scaffold can be tailored to elicit specific cellular responses. However, it is challenging to decouple their individual effects on cell-material interactions. Here, we solvent-cast 3D printed different ratios of high and low molecular weight (MW) poly(caprolactone) (PCL) to fabricate scaffolds with significantly different stiffnesses without affecting other properties. Ink viscosity was used to match processing conditions between inks and generate scaffolds with the same surface chemistry, crystallinity, filament diameter, and architecture. Increasing the ratio of low MW PCL resulted in a significant decrease in modulus. Scaffold modulus did not affect human mesenchymal stromal cell (hMSC) differentiation under osteogenic conditions. However, hMSC response was significantly affected by scaffold stiffness in chondrogenic media. Low stiffness promoted more stable chondrogenesis whereas high stiffness drove hMSC progression toward hypertrophy. These data illustrate how this versatile platform can be used to independently modify biochemical and physical cues in a single scaffold to synergistically enhance desired cellular response., (© 2024 The Authors. Journal of Biomedical Materials Research Part A published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

Kaposi sarcoma (KS) continues to cause substantial morbidity and mortality in populations at risk in the southern United States. Utilizing biospecimens from the Houston site of the Young Men's Affiliate Project, 351 men who have sex with men had blood tested for KS-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) IgG. Seroprevalence, seroconversion between time points, and demographic and clinical correlates were measured. KSHV prevalence was 36.7% and incidence was 8.9 per 100 person-years. Furthermore, prevalence and incidence were higher among Black individuals, people living with HIV, and those with a history of syphilis. Further research on KSHV risk may improve health disparities in KS diagnosis and outcomes., Competing Interests: Potential conflicts of interest. A. E. N. receives research funding from Gilead Sciences, Inc. All other authors report no potential conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed., (© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Objective: To describe cases of Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV)-associated multicentric Castleman's disease (MCD) and primary effusion lymphoma (PEL) in patients with HIV from a large, safety-net hospital system in Dallas, Texas, USA., Methods: We conducted a retrospective review of patients with HIV-associated PEL and/or MCD., Results: Twelve patients with PEL and 10 patients with MCD were identified. All patients were male and 17 of 20 were men who have sex with men; 66.7% of PEL patients and 50% of MCD patients had concurrent KS at the time of diagnosis; 42% of patients with PEL and 20% of patients with MCD died during the follow-up period. We noted improved survival in our cohort compared to previous studies, particularly in our PEL patients with a median survival of 11.4 months compared to 3-6-month median survival historically. Median follow-up time for MCD patients was 17.5 months. This improved survival is despite suboptimal antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence at diagnosis, with only 50% of patients on ART at the time of MCD/PEL diagnosis., Conclusion: These data highlight the importance of early recognition of PEL and MCD, and the larger-scale efforts needed to better understand the pathogenetic drivers of clinical outcomes in patients affected by KSHV-related diseases., (© 2023 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Three-dimensional (3D) printing is a popular biomaterials fabrication technique because it enables scaffold composition and architecture to be tuned for different applications. Modifying these properties can also alter mechanical properties, making it challenging to decouple biochemical and physical properties. In this study, inks containing peptide-poly(caprolactone) (PCL) conjugates were solvent-cast 3D printed to create peptide-functionalized scaffolds. We characterized how different concentrations of hyaluronic acid-binding (HAbind-PCL) or mineralizing (E3-PCL) conjugates influenced properties of the resulting 3D-printed constructs. The peptide sequences CGGGRYPISRPRKR (HAbind-PCL; positively charged) and CGGGAAAEEE (E3-PCL; negatively charged) enabled us to evaluate how conjugate chemistry, charge, and concentration affected 3D-printed architecture, conjugate location, and mechanical properties. For both HAbind-PCL and E3-PCL, conjugate addition did not affect ink viscosity, filament diameter, scaffold architecture, or scaffold compressive modulus. Increasing conjugate concentration in the ink prior to printing correlated with an increase in peptide concentration on the scaffold surface. Interestingly, conjugate type affected final conjugate location within the 3D-printed filament cross-section. HAbind-PCL conjugates remained within the filament bulk while E3-PCL conjugates were located closer to the filament surface. E3-PCL at all concentrations did not affect mechanical properties, but an intermediate HAbind-PCL concentration resulted in a moderate decrease in filament tensile modulus. These data suggest final conjugate location within the filament bulk may influence mechanical properties. However, no significant differences were observed between PCL filaments printed without conjugates and filaments printed with higher HAbind-PCL concentrations. These results demonstrate that this 3D printing platform can be used to functionalize the surface without significant changes to the physical properties of the scaffold. The downstream potential of this strategy will enable decoupling of biochemical and physical properties to fine-tune cellular responses and support functional tissue regeneration., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Despite decreasing incidence of toxoplasmosis encephalitis(TE) among people living with HIV(PLWH) in the late antiretroviral era, U.S. safety-net hospitals still see significant numbers of admissions for TE. Little is known about this population, their healthcare utilization and long-term outcomes. We conducted an 8-year retrospective review of PLWH with TE at a safety-net hospital. Demographics, clinical characteristics, treatments, readmissions, and outcomes were collected. We used chi-squared test to evaluate 6-month all-cause readmission and demographic/clinical characteristics. Of 38 patients identified, 79% and 40% had a new diagnosis of TE and HIV respectively. 59% had 6-month all-cause readmission. Social factors were associated with readmission (uninsured (p = 0.036), Spanish as primary language (p = 0.017), non-adherence (p = 0.030)) and not markers of clinical severity (ICU admission, steroid-use, concomitant infections, therapeutic adverse events). Despite high readmission rates, at follow-up, 60% had a complete response, 30% had a partial response. Improving TE outcomes requires focus on culturally competent, coordinated care.

This study determined whether cow or goat yogurt administration has a preventive effect on the hepatic damage undergone during an acute liver injury. Acute liver injury was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of d-galactosamine. Groups of mice were fed with cow or goat yogurt for 2 days or 7 days before the d-galactosamine injection. Blood and liver samples were obtained 12 hours after d-galactosamine inoculation. d-Galactosamine induced an increase in serum amino-transaminases, a reduction in the number of blood leukocytes, an enhancement in neutrophil myeloperoxidase activity, a recruitment of leukocytes toward the liver, an increase in cell death, and an alteration in prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, and fibrinogen levels. Treatment with cow or goat yogurt was effective at increasing leukocyte number and decrease myeloperoxidase activity. We also observed a decrease in leukocyte accumulation in the liver and a reduction in cell death. Activated partial thromboplastin time and fibrinogen were normalized, but prothrombin time only showed an improvement without reaching normal values. Cow or goat yogurts were effective at protecting against an experimental acute liver injury, especially when administered for 7 days.

Unlabelled: Lactobacilllus casei CRL 431 has the ability to modulate the local and systemic immune responses, which are significantly involved in liver injury caused by hepatotoxins. This work was conducted to determine whether L. casei has a preventive effect on the hepatic damage undergone during an acute liver injury (ALI)., Methods: ALI was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of d-galactosamine (D-Gal). Different groups of mice received 1x 109 L. casei cells/day/mouse for 2 days before D-Gal injection. Blood and liver samples were obtained 0, 6, 12, and 24 h after D-Gal administration., Results: D-Gal induced increases in serum aminotransferases, reduced the number of blood leukocytes, enhanced neutrophil myeloperoxidase activity, increased dead cells, and altered prothrombin time and plasma fibrinogen levels. The preventive treatment with L. casei for 2 days modulated the innate immune response. This effect was shown by the earlier normalization of white blood cell counts, myeloperoxidase activity and aminotransferases levels. However, the haemostatic parameters were only partially recovered. The favourable effects obtained could be due to the capacity of L. casei to moderate the inflammatory response at the site of the injury with less damage to liver tissue.

An investigation has been carried out from September 1995 to December 1997 to search for microsporidian spores in the stool specimens of 344 toddlers aged 1 to 24 months, hospitalized at a pediatric institution in Tucumán. They were classified in two groups: I, made up of 222 children suffering from severe diarrheas, and II by 122 affected by different pathologies, except gastroenteritis. The detection of microsporidia was done by light microscopy in smears of stained stool specimens by using the Weber modified Kokoskin method. Copro-parasitological and coprobacteriological studies were also carried out and the nutritional status of each child was determined. In group I, microsporidia were found in 12/122 cases (7.2%), 4/68 belong to eutrophic children (5.9%), and 12/137 to undernourished children (8.8%); 8/16 positives were found to be related with other enteropatogenics. In group II, microsporidia were detected in 10/122 (8.2%), 4/47 in eutrophic children (8.5%), 4/54 in undernourished children (7.4%) and without data in two cases. They were related with other enteropatogenics in 5/10 positives. Tucumán can be estimated as an area with a low rate of HIV infection in toddlers, then it can be estimated that the studied sample was essentially HIV negative. The occurrence of microsporidia was important and did not show significant differences between toddlers with or without diarrhea, eutrophic or undernourished children.