Recent Advances in Clostridioides difficile Infection

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2024 | Viewed by 403

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology, Medical School, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece
Interests: Clostridioides difficile infection; virulence factors; pathogenesis

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of antibiotic-related diarrhea and healthcare-associated infections, as well as a significant cause of morbidity and mortality affecting especially elderly hospitalized patients. Over the past few decades, the incidence, morbidity and mortality associated with CDIs have increased.

Diagnosis of CDI is often difficult and usually based on a clinical history of recent antimicrobial usage and diarrhea in combination with appropriate laboratory tests. Laboratory diagnosis is essential for the detection of toxigenic strains.

CDI’s high recurrence rates, spore generation and antimicrobial resistance are currently significant challenges for the development of new strategies to manage the infection. Antibiotics disrupt the indigenous gut flora, therefore creating an environment that is favorable for recurrent CDI. The restriction of exposure to ‘high-risk’ antibiotics through antibiotic stewardship programs is a potential method for preventing CDIs.

Within the current treatment landscape, antibiotics such as fidaxomicin and vancomycin are still first-line treatments for CDI, but their effectiveness is limited, and novel microbiota-based therapeutic approaches are currently significant challenges to combat the infection.

This Special Issue aims to collect high-quality research articles, review articles and short communications related to various aspects of Clostridioides difficile infection: bacteria–host interactions, pathogenesis, virulence factors, epidemiology, diagnostic procedures, therapy and prevention.

We encourage researchers from relevant fields to contribute papers highlighting the latest updates on Clostridioides difficile infection or invite relevant experts and colleagues to do so.

Dr. Melina K. Kachrimanidou
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Clostridioides difficile infection
  • healthcare-associated infection
  • CDI treatment
  • virulence factors
  • pathogenesis
  • host interactions
  • antibiotic resistance

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Review

29 pages, 2902 KiB  
Review
Exploring the Toxin-Mediated Mechanisms in Clostridioides difficile Infection
by Evdokia Pourliotopoulou, Theodoros Karampatakis and Melania Kachrimanidou
Microorganisms 2024, 12(5), 1004; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12051004 - 16 May 2024
Viewed by 324
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and colitis, with increasing incidence and healthcare costs. Its pathogenesis is primarily driven by toxins produced by the bacterium C. difficile, Toxin A (TcdA) and Toxin B (TcdB). Certain strains [...] Read more.
Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of nosocomial antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and colitis, with increasing incidence and healthcare costs. Its pathogenesis is primarily driven by toxins produced by the bacterium C. difficile, Toxin A (TcdA) and Toxin B (TcdB). Certain strains produce an additional toxin, the C. difficile transferase (CDT), which further enhances the virulence and pathogenicity of C. difficile. These toxins disrupt colonic epithelial barrier integrity, and induce inflammation and cellular damage, leading to CDI symptoms. Significant progress has been made in the past decade in elucidating the molecular mechanisms of TcdA, TcdB, and CDT, which provide insights into the management of CDI and the future development of novel treatment strategies based on anti-toxin therapies. While antibiotics are common treatments, high recurrence rates necessitate alternative therapies. Bezlotoxumab, targeting TcdB, is the only available anti-toxin, yet limitations persist, prompting ongoing research. This review highlights the current knowledge of the structure and mechanism of action of C. difficile toxins and their role in disease. By comprehensively describing the toxin-mediated mechanisms, this review provides insights for the future development of novel treatment strategies and the management of CDI. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Recent Advances in Clostridioides difficile Infection)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop