GRANULOCYTE-MACROPHAGE COLONY-STIMULATING FACTOR (GM-CSF)-COATED IMPLANTS AND THEIR POTENTIAL FOR REDUCING BIOMATERIAL-ASSOCIATED INFECTIONIN NEUTROPENIC HOSTS

The incidence of infections associated with the use of medical biomate rials is high for skin-penetrating devices, when microbes of the norma l skin flora like coagulase-positive and coagulase-negative staphyloco cci dominate as causative organisms. The most serious ones are infecti ons in immunocompromised individuals. A mouse model of subcutaneous st aphylococcal infection yielding abscesses in cyclophosphamide-induced neutropenic mice implanted with heparinized polyethylene (H-PE) was us ed. The present study addresses the question of the effects of implant modification with recombinant granulocyte-macrophage stimulating fact or (rGM-CSF) on the course of infection. Our findings demonstrate that such modification reduces the proliferation of bacteria within the ab scess and as a consequence limits the dissemination of bacteria from t he local infection induced in the neutropenic host.