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Review
. 2012 Nov;18(11):658-66.
doi: 10.1016/j.molmed.2012.09.005. Epub 2012 Oct 16.

Immune responses to Clostridium difficile infection

Rajat Madan  1 , William A Petri Jr
Affiliations
Review

Immune responses to Clostridium difficile infection

Rajat Madan et al. Trends Mol Med. 2012 Nov.

Abstract

Clostridium difficile is the causal agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and is a leading cause of hospital-acquired infections in the US. C. difficile has been known to cause severe diarrhea and colitis for more than 30 years, but the emergence of a newer, hypervirulent strain of C. difficile (BI/NAP1) has further compounded the problem, and recently both the number of cases and mortality associated with C. difficile-associated diarrhea have been increasing. One of the major drivers of disease pathogenesis is believed to be an excessive host inflammatory response. A better understanding of the host inflammation and immune mechanisms that modulate the course of disease and control host susceptibility to C. difficile could lead to novel (host-targeted) strategies for combating the challenges posed by this deadly infection. This review summarizes our current knowledge of the host inflammatory response during C. difficile infection.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Compound tomography (CT) scan of patient with C. difficile colitis showing diffuse thickening along the entire colon
CT findings in patients with C. difficile colitis include colonic thickening, peri-colonic stranding edema, and ‘accordion sign’ (oral contrast material trapped between edematous haustral folds).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Pathogenesis of C. difficile-associated disease.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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