Year: 2015
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Toxemia can develop in Clostridium difficile-infected animals, and correlates with severe and fulminant disease outcomes. Circumstantial evidence suggests that toxemia may occur in patients with C. difficile infection (CDI), but positive diagnosis is extremely rare. We analyzed the potential for C. difficile toxemia in patients, determined its characteristics, and assessed challenges. C. difficile toxins in serum from patients were tested using an ultrasensitive cell-based assay and further confirmed by Rac1 glucosylation assay. The factors that hinder a diagnosis of toxemia were assessed, including investigation of toxin stability, the level of toxins-specific neutralizing antibodies in sera and its effect on diagnosis limits. CDI patients develop detectable toxemia in some cases (2.3%). Toxins were relatively stable in stored sera. Neutralizing anti-toxin antibodies were present during infection and positively correlated with the diagnosis limits. Thus, the masking effect of toxin-specific neutralizing antibodies is the major obstacle in diagnosing C. difficile toxemia using cell-based bioassays.
Source: PLoS ONE
Language: English
Subfield: Infectious Diseases
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,382
Awards: G1081826082, Toxemia and systemic disease in Clostridium difficile infection, G2074471645, Epithelium, dendritic cells, and Clostridium difficile associated colitis, Allosteric therapy of the Clostridium difficile toxins, G6461974028, Development of Vaccines against Clostridium difficile Infection, Immunoprophylactic Strategies to Control Emerging Enteric Infections, G9000013585, Texas Medical Center Digestive Diseases Center
OpenAlex ID: W2036899249