Fibrin- and Collagen-Based Matrices Attenuate Inflammatory and Procoagulant Responses in Human Endothelial Cell Cultures Exposed to Staphylococcus aureus

Infective endocarditis (IE) remains a serious complication after heart valve replacement. Autologous valves constructed by matrix-based tissue engineering are under investigation to increase biocompatibility. The impact of the underlying matrix on the risk to develop IE is not known. The IE is characterized by bacterial adhesion and subsequent interactions of disseminating bacteria with endothelial cells (ECs) and monocytes, evoking endothelial proinflammatory and procoagulant activity, leading to heart valve destruction. In the current study, we, therefore, have seeded human ECs on a fibrin versus collagen gel matrix and, at confluence, infected them with Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus sanguis , and Staphylococcus epidermidis. Especially Sta. aureus infected ECs grown on fibrin (4.2% of the inoculum) and collagen (3.7%) matrices, more than on ECs grown on noncoated plates (1.2%; p