Clostridioides difficile Infection and Pathogenesis
A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 123
Editors
Interests: Clostridioides difficile; virulence; resistance; bacteria causing nosocomial infections
Interests: Clostridioides difficile; therapy; vaccines; antibiotics; fecal microbiota transplantation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Clostridioides difficile is a spore-forming, anaerobic, Gram-positive bacillus that occurs abundantly in the environment and in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals. This bacterium is recognised for its ability to produce toxins and cause diarrhoea, which is often associated with antibiotic usage. The clinical spectrum of C. difficile infection (CDI) ranges from mild diarrhoea to severe life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis and toxic megacolon. The pathogenesis of C. difficile is driven by the activity of two major toxins, A (enterotoxin) and B (cytotoxin). Some strains also produce the additional, binary toxin (transferase). Other important virulence factors include surface proteins, resistance to cell wall hydrolysis via lysozyme, and biofilm formation. C. difficile is known to be resistant to multiple antibiotics, commonly used in the treatment of bacterial infections in clinical settings. C. difficile resistance contributes to the occurrence and recurrence of CDI and leads to the emergence of new strain types, which are often more virulent and multidrug resistant. Understanding the mechanisms of C. difficile resistance is a key issue in the strategy to control the spread of CDI, given that antibiotics are not only the most significant risk factor for the development of CDI, but also the first treatment option.
For this Special Issue, we invite original research and comprehensive review articles in Pathogenesis and Antibiotic Resistance of Clostridioides difficile.
Dr. Katarína Čurová
Dr. Martin Novotný
Prof. Dr. Pavol Jarčuška
Guest Editors
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 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 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
- Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI)
- pathogenesis
- virulence factors
- antibiotic resistance
- treatment
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