Aims. This aim of this study was to analyze the detection rate of rare pathogens in bone and joint infections (BJIs) using metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS), and the impact of mNGS on clinical diagnosis and treatment. Methods. A retrospective analysis was conducted on 235 patients with BJIs who were treated at our hospital between January 2015 and December 2021. Patients were divided into the no-mNGS group (microbial culture only) and the mNGS group (mNGS testing and microbial culture) based on whether mNGS testing was used or not. Results. A total of 147 patients were included in the no-mNGS group and 88 in the mNGS group. The mNGS group had a higher detection rate of rare pathogens than the no-mNGS group (21.6% vs 10.2%, p = 0.016). However, the mNGS group had lower rates of antibiotic-related complications, shorter hospital stays, and higher infection control rates compared with the no-mNGS group (p = 0.017, p = 0.003, and p = 0.028, respectively), while there was no significant difference in the duration of antibiotic use (p = 0.957). In culture-negative cases, the mNGS group had lower rates of antibiotic-related complications, shorter hospital stays, and a higher infection control rate than the no-mNGS group (p = 0.036, p = 0.033, p = 0.022, respectively), while there was no significant difference in the duration of antibiotic use (p = 0.748). Conclusion. mNGS improves detection of rare pathogens in BJIs. mNGS testing reduces antibiotic-related complications, shortens hospital stay and antibiotic use duration, and improves treatment success rate, benefits which are particularly evident in culture-negative cases. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2024;13(8):401–410

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To explore the clinical efficacy of using two different types of articulating spacers in two-stage revision for chronic knee periprosthetic joint infection (kPJI).

Aims

This study aimed to explore the diagnostic value of synovial fluid neutrophil extracellular traps (SF-NETs) in periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) diagnosis, and compare it with that of microbial culture, serum ESR and CRP, synovial white blood cell (WBC) count, and polymorphonuclear neutrophil percentage (PMN%).

Aims

We aimed to evaluate the utility of ⁶⁸Ga-citrate positron emission tomography (PET)/CT in the differentiation of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) and aseptic loosening (AL), and compare it with ^99mTc-methylene bisphosphonates (^99mTc-MDP) bone scan.

Aims. The decrease in the number of satellite cells (SCs), contributing to myofibre formation and reconstitution, and their proliferative capacity, leads to muscle loss, a condition known as sarcopenia. Resistance training can prevent muscle loss; however, the underlying mechanisms of resistance training effects on SCs are not well understood. We therefore conducted a comprehensive transcriptome analysis of SCs in a mouse model. Methods. We compared the differentially expressed genes of SCs in young mice (eight weeks old), middle-aged (48-week-old) mice with resistance training intervention (MID+ T), and mice without exercise (MID) using next-generation sequencing and bioinformatics. Results. After the bioinformatic analysis, the PI3K-Akt signalling pathway and the regulation of actin cytoskeleton in particular were highlighted among the top ten pathways with the most differentially expressed genes involved in the young/MID and MID+ T/MID groups. The expression of Gng5, Atf2, and Rtor in the PI3K-Akt signalling pathway was higher in the young and MID+ T groups compared with the MID group. Similarly, Limk1, Arhgef12, and Araf in the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton pathway had a similar bias. Moreover, the protein expression profiles of Atf2, Rptor, and Ccnd3 in each group were paralleled with the results of NGS. Conclusion. Our results revealed that age-induced muscle loss might result from age-influenced genes that contribute to muscle development in SCs. After resistance training, age-impaired genes were reactivated, and age-induced genes were depressed. The change fold in these genes in the young/MID mice resembled those in the MID + T/MID group, suggesting that resistance training can rejuvenate the self-renewing ability of SCs by recovering age-influenced genes to prevent sarcopenia. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2022;11(2):121–133

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To explore the effect of different durations of antibiotics after stage II reimplantation on the prognosis of two-stage revision for chronic periprosthetic joint infection (PJI).

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Cell-free DNA (cfDNA) and circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) are used for prognostication and monitoring in patients with carcinomas, but their utility is unclear in sarcomas. The objectives of this pilot study were to explore the prognostic significance of cfDNA and investigate whether tumour-specific alterations can be detected in the circulation of sarcoma patients.

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Microbiological culture is a key element in the diagnosis of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI). However, cultures of periprosthetic tissue do not have optimal sensitivity. One of the main reasons for this is that microorganisms are not released from the tissues, either due to biofilm formation or intracellular persistence. This study aimed to optimize tissue pretreatment methods in order to improve detection of microorganisms.

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The effect of the gut microbiota (GM) and its metabolite on bone health is termed the gut-bone axis. Multiple studies have elucidated the mechanisms but findings vary greatly. A systematic review was performed to analyze current animal models and explore the effect of GM on bone.

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This study aimed to explore whether serum combined with synovial interleukin-6 (IL-6) measurement can improve the accuracy of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) diagnosis, and to establish the cut-off values of IL-6 in serum and synovial fluid in detecting chronic PJI.

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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systematic autoimmune disorder, characterized by synovial inflammation, bone and cartilage destruction, and disease involvement in multiple organs. Although numerous drugs are employed in RA treatment, some respond little and suffer from severe side effects. This study aimed to screen the candidate therapeutic targets and promising drugs in a novel method.

Aims. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) in detecting pathogens from synovial fluid of prosthetic joint infection (PJI) patients. Methods. A group of 75 patients who underwent revision knee or hip arthroplasties were enrolled prospectively. Ten patients with primary arthroplasties were included as negative controls. Synovial fluid was collected for mNGS analysis. Optimal thresholds were determined to distinguish pathogens from background microbes. Synovial fluid, tissue, and sonicate fluid were obtained for culture. Results. A total of 49 PJI and 21 noninfection patients were finally included. Of the 39 culture-positive PJI cases, mNGS results were positive in 37 patients (94.9%), and were consistent with culture results at the genus level in 32 patients (86.5%) and at the species level in 27 patients (73.0%). Metagenomic next-generation sequencing additionally identified 15 pathogens from five culture-positive and all ten culture-negative PJI cases, and even one pathogen from one noninfection patient, while yielding no positive findings in any primary arthroplasty. However, seven pathogens identified by culture were missed by mNGS. The sensitivity of mNGS for diagnosing PJI was 95.9%, which was significantly higher than that of comprehensive culture (79.6%; p = 0.014). The specificity is similar between mNGS and comprehensive culture (95.2% and 95.2%, respectively; p = 1.0). Conclusion. Metagenomic next-generation sequencing can effectively identify pathogens from synovial fluid of PJI patients, and demonstrates high accuracy in diagnosing PJI. Cite this article: Bone Joint Res 2020;9(7):440–449

Objectives

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is the most common cause of arthroplasty failure. However, infection is often difficult to detect by conventional bacterial cultures, for which false-negative rates are 23% to 35%. In contrast, 16S rRNA metagenomics has been shown to quantitatively detect unculturable, unsuspected, and unviable pathogens. In this study, we investigated the use of 16S rRNA metagenomics for detection of bacterial pathogens in synovial fluid (SF) from patients with hip or knee PJI.

Objectives

Several genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of bone mineral density (BMD) have successfully identified multiple susceptibility genes, yet isolated susceptibility genes are often difficult to interpret biologically. The aim of this study was to unravel the genetic background of BMD at pathway level, by integrating BMD GWAS data with genome-wide expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) and methylation quantitative trait loci (meQTLs) data

Objectives

We have previously investigated an association between the genome copy number variation (CNV) and acetabular dysplasia (AD). Hip osteoarthritis is associated with a genetic polymorphism in the aspartic acid repeat in the N-terminal region of the asporin (ASPN) gene; therefore, the present study aimed to investigate whether the CNV of ASPN is involved in the pathogenesis of AD.