Bile salt metabolism is not the only factor contributing to <i>Clostridioides</i> (<i>Clostridium</i>) <i>difficile</i> disease severity in the murine model of disease.

ABSTRACT: Susceptibility of patients to antibiotic-associated C. difficile disease is intimately associated with specific changes to gut microbiome composition. In particular, loss of microbes that modify bile salt acids (BSA) play a central role; primary bile acids stimulate spore germination whilst secondary bile acids limit C. difficile vegetative growth. To determine the relative contribution of bile salt (BS) metabolism on C. difficile disease severity, we treated mice with three combinations of antibiotics prior to infection. Mice given clindamycin alone became colonized but displayed no tissue pathology while severe disease, exemplified by weight loss and inflammatory tissue damage occurred in animals given a combination of five antibiotics and clindamycin. Animals given

SUBMITTER: Jukes CA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7524298 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature