Real-time monitoring of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation on endotracheal tubes in vitro

BACKGROUND: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic bacterial pathogen responsible for both acute and chronic infections in humans. In particular, its ability to form biofilm, on biotic and abiotic surfaces, makes it particularly resistant to host's immune defenses and current antibiotic therapies as well. Innovative antimicrobial materials, like hydrogel, silver salts or nanoparticles have been used to cover new generation catheters with promising results. Nevertheless, biofilm remains a major health problem. For instance, biofilm produced onto endotracheal tubes (ETT) of ventilated patients plays a relevant role in the onset of ventilation-associated pneumonia. Most of our knowledge on Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm derives from in vitro studies carried out on abiotic surfaces, such as polystyrene microplates or plastic materials used for ETT manufacturing. However, these approaches often provide underestimated results since other parameters, in addition to bacterial features (i.e. shape and material composition of ETT) might strongly influence biofilm formation. RESULTS: We used an already established biofilm development assay on medically-relevant foreign devices (CVC catheters) by a stably transformed bioluminescent (BLI)-Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain, in order to follow up biofilm formation on ETT by bioluminescence detection. Our results demonstrated that it is possible: i) to monitor BLI-Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm development on ETT pieces in real-time, ii) to evaluate the three-dimensional structure of biofilm directly on ETT, iii) to assess metabolic behavior and the production of microbial virulence traits of bacteria embedded on ETT-biofilm. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, we were able to standardize a rapid and easy-to-perform in vitro model for real-time monitoring Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm formation directly onto ETT pieces, taking into account not only microbial factors, but also ETT shape and material. Our study provides a rapid method for future screening and validation of novel antimicrobial drugs as well as for the evaluation of novel biomaterials employed in the production of new classes of ETT

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 11

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates published elsewhere are provided as Suppl. material 1

How to Manage COVID-19 Vaccination in Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases: An Expert Opinion by IMIDs Study Group

Since March 2020, the outbreak of Sars-CoV-2 pandemic has changed medical practice and daily routine around the world. Huge efforts from pharmacological industries have led to the development of COVID-19 vaccines. In particular two mRNA vaccines, namely the BNT162b2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) and the mRNA-1273 (Moderna), and a viral-vectored vaccine, i.e. ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AstraZeneca), have recently been approved in Europe. Clinical trials on these vaccines have been published on the general population showing a high efficacy with minor adverse events. However, specific data about the efficacy and safety of these vaccines in patients with immune-mediated inflammatory diseases (IMIDs) are still lacking. Moreover, the limited availability of these vaccines requires prioritizing some vulnerable categories of patients compared to others. In this position paper, we propose the point of view about the management of COVID-19 vaccination from Italian experts on IMIDs and the identification of high-risk groups according to the different diseases and their chronic therapy

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 13

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates published elsewhere are provided as Suppl. material 1

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 13

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Nomenclatural and distribution updates published elsewhere are provided as Suppl. materia

Notulae to the Italian alien vascular flora: 9

In this contribution, new data concerning the distribution of vascular flora alien to Italy are presented. It includes new records, confirmations, exclusions, and status changes for Italy or for Italian administrative regions. Furthermore, three new combinations are proposed