Clostridioides difficile is a Gram-positive bacterium that can cause mild to severe diarrhea, inflammation, and colonic tissue damage in animal hosts. Symptoms of the disease can be attributed to the activity of toxin B (TcdB) secreted by C. difficile during infection. TcdB can engage …

Clostridioides difficile causes life-threatening gastrointestinal infections. It is a high-risk pathogen due to a lack of effective treatments, antimicrobial resistance, and a poorly conserved genomic core. Herein, we report 30 X-ray structures from a structure genomics pipeline spanning 13 y …

Clostridioides difficile is the leading cause of healthcare associated infections. The Pathogenicity Locus (PaLoc) toxins TcdA and TcdB promote host disease. These toxins lack canonical N-terminal signal sequences for translocation across the bacterial membrane, suggesting alternate mechanism …

The intestinal pathogen Clostridioides difficile encodes roughly 50 TCS, but very few have been characterized in terms of their activating signals or their regulatory roles. A. G. Pannullo, B. R. Zbylicki, and C. D. Ellermeier (J Bacteriol 205:e00164-23, 2023, https://doi.org/10.1128/jb.00164 …

The environment is a natural reservoir of Clostridioides difficile and here, we aimed to isolate the pathogen from seven locations in Northern Iraq. Four of the sites yielded thirty-one isolates (ten from soils, twenty-one from sediments) which together represent ribotypes 001 (five), 010 (five), 01 …

Hypervirulent ribotypes (HVRTs) of Clostridioides difficile such as ribotype (RT) 027 are epidemiologically important. This study evaluated whether MALDI-TOF can distinguish between strains of HVRTs and non-HVRTs commonly found in Europe. Obtained spectra of clinical C. difficile isolates (training …

A longitudinal study of ICU patients found that transition from asymptomatic C. difficile carriage to full-blown infection was far more common than transmission between patients.

The environment is a natural reservoir of Clostridioides difficile and here, we aimed to isolate the pathogen from seven locations in Northern Iraq. Four of the sites yielded thirty-one isolates (ten from soils, twenty-one from sediments) which together represent ribotypes 001 (five), 010 (five), 01 …

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a prevalent source of hospital-acquired diarrhea. The most common presentation of CDI is colitis. In cases of fulminant colitis/toxic megacolon, a colectomy and end ileostomy are part of the treatment plan. There is evidence to suggest that it may b …

Ischemic colitis is typically considered a disease of the elderly, given their atherosclerotic risk factors and other comorbidities. Ischemic colitis in the younger population is considered very...

Ischemic colitis is typically considered a disease of the elderly, given their atherosclerotic risk factors and other comorbidities. Ischemic colitis in the younger population is considered very...

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a major cause of healthcare-associated gastrointestinal infections1,2. The exaggerated colonic inflammation caused by C. difficile toxins such as toxin B (TcdB) damages tissues and promotes C. difficile colonization3-6, but how TcdB c …

CDI is independently associated with increased mortality in patients admitted with COVID-19 infection. Female gender and several pre-existing comorbidities are independent predictors of CDI in COVID-19 patients.

Clostridioides difficile infections (CDIs) are responsible for a significant number of antibiotic-associated diarrheal cases. The standard-of-care antibiotics for C. difficile are limited to fidaxomicin and vancomycin, with the recently obsolete metronidazole recommended if both are unavailable. No …

Scientific Reports - Inhibition of selenoprotein synthesis is not the mechanism by which auranofin inhibits growth of Clostridioides difficile

Utilizing single-cell transcriptomics, IEC-epithelial co-cultures, and pre-clinical models of CDI, we have identified a subset of neutrophils that are marked by OLFM4 expression as pathogenic determinants of IEC barrier damage after CDI.

Utilizing single-cell transcriptomics, IEC-epithelial co-cultures, and pre-clinical models of CDI, we have identified a subset of neutrophils that are marked by OLFM4 expression as pathogenic determinants of IEC barrier damage after CDI.

Role of the microbiome in essential metabolism in the human gut and its implications for Clostridioides difficile infection

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are products of bacterial fermentation that help maintain important gut functions such as maintenance of the intestinal barrier, cell signaling, and immune homeostasis. The main SCFAs acetate, propionate, and butyrate have demonstrated beneficial effects for the host, …

Children with IBD have an elevated incidence of CDI, but their CDI risk does not associate with established risk factors in adults with IBD. Existing testing methodologies are inadequate at differentiating CDI from C. difficile colonization in children with IBD. Fecal microbiota transplantation offe …

Ca 2+ dissociation and dynamics in a receptor binding domain activates pore-formation by C. difficile binary toxin.

C. difficile antimicrobial susceptibility varied by country/region, study period, and circulating ribotypes. For CDI treatment, fidaxomicin (preferably) or vancomycin is recommended, while metronidazole is suitable for mild infections. New approaches, including biotherapeutics (Rebyota), stra …

Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), responsible for 15-25% of gastrointestinal infections, causes health problems mainly due to the toxic activity of toxins A and B (Tcds). These are responsible for its clinical manifestations, including diarrhea, pseudomembranous colitis, toxic m …

Meet your gut microbiome: a community of around 4,500 different types of bacteria living in your bowels

Clostridioides difficile (CD) is a major cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and pseudomembranous enteritis. C. difficile infection (CDI) is increasingly present in the community and represents a significant burden on the healthcare system. Identification of novel immune-based therapeutic target …

Taller people may have longer gastrointestinal tracts that can house a broader array of microorganisms and could protect them against infections from bacteria such as Clostridium difficile

Low back pain (LBP) is the foremost cause of disability that affects the day-to-day activities of millions of people worldwide. The putative trigger of LBP is linked to the gut microbiome (GM) and its dysbiotic environment. With the concept of GM, various disease pathogenesis has been revisited with …

The gastrointestinal pathogen Clostridioides difficile is the most common cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea. Bacterial interactions with the gut mucosa are crucial for the establishment of C. difficile infection; however, key infection events like bacterial attachment and gut penetra …

Understanding the Roles of tcdE and tcdL During Toxin Secretion in Clostridioides difficile

Cryo-EM Analysis of the Clostridioides difficile Transferase Reveals Intoxication Intermediates