ABSTRACT
Purpose: Recurrent diarrhoea after successful treatment of primary Clostridium difficile associated disease (CDAD) occurs due to bowel flora alterations and failure to mount an effective antibody response. Apart from antibiotics, risk factors include immunosuppressive and acid-suppressive drug administration. Biotherapeutics such as probiotic and epidermal growth factor (EGF) may offer potential effective therapy for CDAD. Materials and Methods: The effect of biotherapeutics in mounting an antibody response against C. difficile toxins was studied in BALB/c mice challenged with C. difficile after pre-treatment with ampicillin, lansoprazole or cyclosporin. Sera from sacrificed animals were estimated for antitoxin IgG by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. Results: Antitoxin IgG was significantly higher (P<0.05) in C. difficile challenged groups compared to unchallenged controls, but insignificant (P>0.05) in animals in which C. difficile was given after pre-treatment with cyclosporin compared to those without any pre-treatment, or pre-treatment with antibiotic or lansoprazole. In inter-subgroup comparisons also significant anomaly in production of antitoxin IgG was found. The antitoxin IgG levels were raised in animals administered C. difficile after pre-treatment with ampicillin, but lower in animals administered cyclosporin. High levels of antitoxin IgG were also found in the serum samples of animals receiving lansoprazole and C. difficile. Conclusions: Probiotics showed their beneficial effect by boosting the immune response as seen by production of antitoxin IgG. Oral administration of EGF did not affect the immune response to C. difficile toxins as significant increase was not observed in the serum antitoxin IgG levels in any of the groups investigated.
Subject(s)
Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/blood , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Antitoxins/blood , Antitoxins/drug effects , Biopharmaceutics/methods , Clostridioides difficile/drug effects , Drug Compounding/methods , Drug Delivery Systems/methods , Immunoglobulin G/blood , Immunoglobulin G/drug effects , Models, AnimalABSTRACT
Com o objetivo de comparar reaçöes locais e conversäo sorológica apresentadas por adultos que receberam o toxóide tetânico através de Ped-o-Jet (via subcutânea) ou de seringa hipodérmica (via intramuscular), o toxóide foi administrado a 472 recrutas do Exército. Em observaçöes realizadas 4 a 24 horas após a vacinaçäo verificou-se que as reaçöes locais dos indivíduos vacinados com Ped-o-Jet eram significativamente mais frequentes e mais intensas do que aquelas dos vacinados com seringa hipodérmica, näo tendo ocorrido, entretanto, reaçöes graves. A conversäo sorológica dos näo imunes vacinados com Ped-oJet ocorreu numa frequencia maior do que nos indivíduos vacinados com seringa hipodérmica. Conclui-se portanto, que o Ped-o-Jet pode ser utilizado em campanhas de vacinaçäo em massa contra o tétano, embora a via de administraçäo preferencial, até o momento, seja a intramuscular