Regulatory Mechanism of Clostridium difficile Toxin-associated Pathogenic Gene and Anti-toxin Treatment / 胃肠病学

Clostridium difficile( C. difficile)is a major nosocomial infection pathogen and the principal causative agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. The toxigenic C. difficile strains cause colonic injury and inflammation mainly by secreting enterotoxin A( TcdA)and cytotoxin B( TcdB). The severity of C. difficile associated disease( CDAD)is correlated to the toxin level during host infection. However,the toxigenic capacity of C. difficile varies widely among strains,which correlates with the gene regulation involved during toxin production. This article reviewed the regulatory mechanism of C. difficile toxin-associated pathogenic gene and anti-toxin treatment.

Clostridium difficile Infection: Is Clinical Phenotype Associated with Bacterial Toxin? / 胃肠病学

Clostridium difficile (C.difficile) infection is the leading cause of hospital-acquired diarrhea and pseudomembranous colitis.C.difficile-associated disease (CDAD) is mediated mainly by two bacterial toxins, TcdA and TcdB, which cause the diarrhea, as well as colitis and even intestinal necrosis.It has been indicated that level of C.difficile toxin is an important factor influencing the clinical phenotype of CDAD, however, the exact association between toxin and clinical phenotype remains unclear.In this article, we summarized the clinical phenotype of CDAD, the structure, function and regulatory mechanism of C.difficile toxin and discussed the relationship between C.difficile toxin and clinical phenotype, which may help to understand the pathogenic mechanism and provide possible therapeutic target for C.difficile infection.