Biotechnology

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study. Objective: To determine if local administration of liposomal bupivacaine (LB) reduces postoperative pain scores and narcotic use in spinal deformity patients. Methods: Adult patients undergoing elective spinal fusion (7 or more levels) for scoliosis or kyphosis were selected for inclusion. Patients received either periincisional injections of combined liposomal and standard bupivacaine (n = 90, group L) or standard bupivacaine only (n = 69, group C). Perioperative pain scores (VAS [visual analogue scale]), opioid use, length of stay, functional outcome (ODI [Oswestry Disability Index]), and perioperative complications were recorded. No external funding was received for this study. Results: A total of 159 patients met inclusion criteria (mean age was 54.2 years of age). No significant baseline demographic differences were noted between the 2 groups. Group L experienced slight improvements in pain control on postoperative day (POD) 1 ( P = .02...

Study Design: Retrospective comparative analysis of prospective cohort. Objective: To determine whether sacroiliac (SI) screw fixation ipsilateral to hand dominance compared to bilateral fixation impacts personal hygiene (wiping) after toileting. Methods: Inclusion criteria were adult spinal deformity (ASD) patients with long arthrodesis (≥T12-pelvis) who had undergone primary unilateral or bilateral SI fixation with a minimum of 2-years-follow-up. Results: 117 consecutive patients were included and separated into 2 groups: bilateral SI fixation (BL, n = 61) and unilateral SI fixation (UNI, n = 56), with no difference in age. Of UNI patients, 10.7% (6) performed personal hygiene with a different hand after surgery, compared to 6.6% (4) of patients who received BL fixation ( P = 0.422). All UNI patients who switched hands were right-hand dominant, and 5/6 received right-sided fixation. There was no statistical difference found between number of levels fused (<8, 9-11, or >11 le...

Health Science Center at Tyler Neutrophils infiltrate the lungs in active tuberculosis (TB) and contribute to the exacerbation of TB pathology. However, the contributing factors and the mechanisms of neutrophil infiltration in TB are unclear. As secretion of early secreted antigenic target of 6 kDa (ESAT-6) and its molecular partner culture filtrate protein 10 kD (CFP10) by ESX-1 secretion system is essential for pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), we infected C57BL/6 mice intranasally with Mtb strains H37Rv, its esat-6 deletion mutant, and esat-6 complemented strain and evaluated lung neutrophil infiltration. H37Rv and esat-6 complemented strain induced neutrophil infiltration at day 7 and peaked at day 14 post infection. Whereas esat-6 deletion mutant induced significantly less neutrophil infiltration at both time points. In line with this, intranasal delivery of recombinant ESAT-6 but not CFP10 or Hank’s balanced salt solution (vehicle) induced neutrophil infiltrati...

Health Science Center at Tyler Neutrophils infiltrate the lungs in active tuberculosis (TB) and contribute to the exacerbation of TB pathology. However, the contributing factors and the mechanisms of neutrophil infiltration in TB are unclear. As secretion of early secreted antigenic target of 6 kDa (ESAT-6) and its molecular partner culture filtrate protein 10 kD (CFP10) by ESX-1 secretion system is essential for pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb), we infected C57BL/6 mice intranasally with Mtb strains H37Rv, its esat-6 deletion mutant, and esat-6 complemented strain and evaluated lung neutrophil infiltration. H37Rv and esat-6 complemented strain induced neutrophil infiltration at day 7 and peaked at day 14 post infection. Whereas esat-6 deletion mutant induced significantly less neutrophil infiltration at both time points. In line with this, intranasal delivery of recombinant ESAT-6 but not CFP10 or Hank’s balanced salt solution (vehicle) induced neutrophil infiltration of the lungs as early as 2 hours, peaked at 24 hours, and started to decline at 72 hours post treatment. RNA-sequencing analysis of total lung RNA from ESAT-6 or CFP10 treated mice identified S100A9 as one of the most significantly upregulated genes by ESAT-6. Real-time PCR and ELISA validated that ESAT-6 stimulated increased gene expression and protein secretion of S100A9 in mouse lungs. Immunohistochemistry analysis revealed that ESAT-6 induced neutrophilic lung inflammation. Consistent with this, H37Rv and esat-6 complemented strain induced significantly higher levels of S100A9 compared to their esat-6 deletion mutant in mouse lungs after intranasal infection. We conclude that ESAT-6-induced S100A9 plays a critical role in lung neutrophil infiltrations in TB infection.