Project description:Clostridium difficile is a potentially lethal gut pathogen that causes nosocomial and community acquired infections. Limited treatment options and reports of reduced susceptibility to current treatment emphasize the necessity for novel antimicrobials. The DNA-polymerase of gram-positive organisms is an attractive target for the development of antimicrobials. ACX362E (N2-(3,4-Dichlorobenzyl)-7-(2-[1-morpholinyl]ethyl)guanine; MorE-DCBG) is a DNA polymerase inhibitor in pre-clinical development as a novel therapeutic against C. difficile infection. This synthetic purine shows preferential activity against C. difficile Pol IIIC over those of other organisms in vitro and is effective in an animal model of C. difficile infection. In this study we have determined its efficacy against a large collection of clinical isolates. At concentrations below the minimal inhibitory concentration, the presumed slowing (or stalling) of replication forks due to ACX362E leads to a growth defect. We have determined the transcriptional response of C. difficile to replication inhibition and observed an overrepresentation of up-regulated genes near the origin of replication in the presence of PolC-inhibitors, but not when cells were subjected to sub-inhibitory concentrations of other antibiotics. This phenomenon can be explained by a gene dosage shift, as we observed a concomitant increase in the ratio between origin-proximal versus terminus-proximal gene copy number upon exposure to PolC-inhibitors. Moreover, we show that certain genes differentially regulated under PolC-inhibition are controlled by the origin-proximal general stress response regulator sigma factor B. Together, these data suggest that genome location both directly and indirectly determines the transcriptional response to replication inhibition in C. difficile
Project description:Toxin A and B from Clostridium difficile are the primary virulence factors in Clostridium difficile disease. The changes in gene transcription of human colon epithelial cells were investigated in vitro in order to better understand the many effects of both toxins.
Project description:Transcriptional analysis of Clostridium difficile R20291 in biofilm formation, planktonic state and grown on blood agar RNA sequencing was performed on Clostridium difficile R20291 in three different conditions: Biofilm formation, plantonic state and grown on blood agar plates. Each condtion has 3 replicates.
Project description:BACKGROUND: miRNA have been shown to play an important role during immune-mediated diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease. The aim of this study was to assess differential expression of miRNA between uninfected and infected mice with Clostridium difficile strain VPI 10463 RESULTS: MicroRNA (miRNA)-sequencing analysis indicated that miR-146b, miR-1940, and miR-1298 were significantly overexpressed in colons of C. difficile-infected mice Colon of uninfected and C.difficile-infected C57BL6/J WT mice were sampled at day 4 post-infection with Clostridium difficile VPI 10463. The infection dose was 107 cfu/mouse.
Project description:Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) strains belonging to PCR ribotype 027, PFGE type NAP1, REA type B1 and toxinotype III, termed NAP1/027, have been implicated in the increased frequency of outbreaks of Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhoea (CDAD) in North America and Europe. The NAP1/027 strains appears to be more virulent with an increased mortality and frequency of relapse. Current European C. difficile microarrays are designed to the first sequenced and annotated C. difficile complete genome - strain 630 (ribotype 12). A high density oligonucleotide microarray was designed to C. difficile 630 (CD630) sequence and extra probes corresponding to two PCR ribotypes O27 strains C. difficile R20291 and QCD-32g58 were also included. Comparative genomic hybridisation was used to identify markers of ribotype 027 strains and markers to identify CD630. Strains hybridised to the array included the most prevalent ribotypes found in the UK and Europe (106 and 001) as well as the emerging hypervirulent ribotype 078.
Project description:Analysis of Clostridium difficile (Cd) from the cecal contents of germ-free mice or Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron (Bt)-monocolonized mice on a standard, polysaccharide rich diet or polysaccharide deficient diet 5 days after infection. Results identify genes that are involved in the Cd response to diet, in vivo colonization and in interactions with Bt. In vitro transcriptional profiles of Clostridium difficile obtained from cecal contents of germ-free or Bt-monocolonized mice on a standard, polysaccharide rich or polysaccharide deficient diet. 4 samples/group. 2 control genomic DNA samples for Clostridium difficile and 2 reference genomic DNA samples for Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron Please note that 4 control samples (genomic DNA) were used to determine whether the genomic DNA correctly bound to the probes and thus, were not included in data processing (i.e no processed/normalized data).
