New perspectives in Clostridium difficile disease pathogenesis

Monaghan, Tanya M.

Abstract

Clostridium difficile is a gram-positive, endospore-forming, anaerobic, gastrointestinal pathogen that is the leading worldwide cause of hospital-acquired infective diarrhea.1 C. difficile exerts its major pathologic effects through the action of its 2 principal virulence factors, toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB). The importance of these homologous exotoxins to C difficile pathogenesis is extensively supported by in vitro studies using epithelial cell lines derived from human colon cancer and small animal models,2,3 as well as reports showing that C difficile clinical isolates lacking both toxin genes are nonpathogenic in humans and animals. 4–6 In addition to pathogenic toxin production, the composition and function of the intestinal microbiome and host immune factors have direct impacts on C difficile pathogenesis. This article highlights recent developments in the understanding of C difficile infection (CDI) pathogenesis

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 29, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jan 5, 2015
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Jul 27, 2018
• Electronic ISSN: 1557-9824
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 29
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 1-11
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idc.2014.11.007
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1104200
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891552014000841?via%3Dihub
• PMID: 00035102