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. 2014 Jul;2(4):477-480.
doi: 10.3892/br.2014.270. Epub 2014 Apr 25.

Comparison of polymerase chain reaction ribotyping, toxinotyping and nutritional aspects of toxin production of Clostridium difficile strains

Shanshan Zhu  1 , Liming Zhang  1 , Chunling Zhang  1 , Xianjun Chen  1 , Qi Chen  1 , Zhaoyun Li  2
Affiliations

Comparison of polymerase chain reaction ribotyping, toxinotyping and nutritional aspects of toxin production of Clostridium difficile strains

Shanshan Zhu et al. Biomed Rep. 2014 Jul.

Abstract

Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is the leading cause of infectious diarrhea in hospitals worldwide. Enterotoxin A (TcdA) and cytotoxin B (TcdB), have been identified as the main virulence factors of C. difficile. In China, data on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) ribotypes and abilities of hospital-derived C. difficile isolates to produce TcdA and TcdB are sparse. In this study, we identified 40 C. difficile isolates from the Taizhou hospital and investigated their PCR ribotypes based on the 16S-23S rRNA gene intergenic spacer region. The ability of different ribotypes to produce TcdA and TcdB was determined by immunochromatography and cytotoxicity assays, respectively. The effects of the nutritional status on the production of these toxins were also investigated.

Keywords: Clostridium difficile; nutritional aspects; polymerase chain reaction ribotyping; toxinotyping.

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