It is apparent that Cutibacterium have two faces: benign commensal and pathogenic in shoulder periprosthetic infections (see this link).
To explore this duality, these authors sought to compare the prevalence of Cutibacterium subtypes, biofilm formation and hemolytic activity between Cutibacterium recovered from 42 deep specimens obtained at the time of surgical revision for failed shoulder arthroplasty and Cutibacterium recovered from 43 samples of the skin from normal subjects.
Biofilm forming capacity and hemolytic activity were significantly higher in the tissue and explant samples compared to the control skin samples.
Samples with hemolytic activity had significantly higher biofilm forming capacity compared to samples without hemolytic activity (0.27 ± 0.29 vs. 0.12 ± 0.15, p=0.015).
While there were significant differences in genetic subtypes between samples from revised shoulders and normal skin
the difference in biofilm forming capacity and hemolytic activity between genetic subtypes of Cutibacterium was not statistically significant in this study
Comment: These data add support for the view that Cutibacterium harvested from deep tissues are significantly different from those recovered from normal skin with respect to both genetic subtypes and phenotype (hemolysis and biofilm formation).
The lack of statistically significant correlation between Cutibacterium phenotypes and genetic subtype suggests that the observed differences in hemolytic activity and biofilm formation may relate at least in part to gene expression rather than to genetics.
Follow on twitter: https://twitter.com/shoulderarth
Follow on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/frederick.matsen
Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rick-matsen-88b1a8133/
How you can support research in shoulder surgery Click on this link.
Here are some videos that are of shoulder interest
