Effects of Fibronectin Coating on Bacterial and Osteoblast Progenitor Cells Adherence in a Co-culture Assay

Bacterial adherence to the surface of implants functionalized with cell-adhesive biomolecules is a critical first step of infection development. This study was designed to determine how the immobilization of human plasmatic fibronectin (pFN) could impact bacterial and osteoblast cells interaction with the surface during concomitant exposition to the two cell-types. Calibrated suspensions of P. aeruginosa PAOI or S. aureus CIP4.83 bacteria and STRO-1(+)A osteoblast progenitor cells were mixed, co-seeded on glass coverslips coated or not with pFN and incubated at 37 degrees C. After 3 h of co-culture, the presence of bacteria did not modify the STRO-1(+)A cells adherence to glass. pFN coating significantly enhanced STRO-1(+)A cells, CIP4.83 and PAOI adherence to glass and bacterial interaction with STRO-1(+)A cells. Confocal laser scanning microscopy observations revealed that cells on the pFN-coated substrate exhibited a greater spreading, better organized network of cytoskeletal filaments, and an increased cellular FN expression than cells on the uncoated substrate. The use of fluorescently labeled pFN showed that adherent STRO-1(+)A cells were able to remodel and to concentrate coated pFN at the cells surface. Thus, the use of FN coating could increase the risk of bacterial adherence to the material surface, acting either directly onto the coating layer or indirectly on adherent osteoblastic cells. This may increase the infection risk in the presence of bacterial contamination.