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Study identifies new way to treat C. difficile
Savidge TC. Nat Med. 2011. doi:10.1038/nm.2405.
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Researchers have discovered a molecular process by which the body can defend against the effects of Clostridium difficile infection, according to a study published online in Nature Medicine.
The findings, according to a UCLA press release, could point the way to a new approach for treating Clostridium difficile infection (CDI).
“We are treating a disease caused by antibiotics with yet another antibiotic, which creates the conditions for re-infection from the same bacteria,” Charalabos Pothoulakis, MD, of the division of gastroenterology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, stated in the release. “Identification of new treatment modalities for treating this infection would be a major advance.”
Researchers with UCLA and the University of Texas noted in laboratory studies that when infected with CDI, human cells in the gut are capable of releasing molecules that neutralize the toxins and render them harmless. Further animal studies showed that using the protein s-nitrosylation to induce this process inhibited CDI toxins from destroying intestinal cells.
The researchers are preparing to launch clinical trials using their discovery as a new CDI therapeutic approach.
“We already know through gene-sequencing analysis that hundreds of microbial proteins can be regulated by s-nitrosylation,” Pothoulakis stated. “If we are successful with this approach, we may be able to treat other bacterial diseases in a similar way.”
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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