Murine Model of Clostridium difficile Infection with Aged Gnotobiotic C57BL/6 Mice and a BI/NAP1 Strain

作者：Pawlowski S W^*; Calabrese G; Kolling G L; Freire R; AlcantaraWarren C; Liu B; Sartor R B; Guerrant R L

来源：Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2010, 202(11): 1708-1712.

DOI：10.1086/657086

The increased incidence and severity of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) in older adults (age, >= 65 years) corresponds with the emergence of the BI/NAP1 strain, making elucidation of the host immune response extremely important. We therefore infected germ-free C57BL/6 mice aged 7-14 months with a BI/NAP1 strain and monitored the mice for response. Infected mice were moribund 48-72 h after infection and developed gross and histological cecitis and colitis and elevated concentrations of keratinocyte chemoattractant, interleukin 1 beta, monocyte chemotactic protein 1, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and decreased levels of interferon gamma, interleukin 12 p40, interleukin 12 p70, and interleukin 10 compared with controls. We conclude that aged, germ-free C57BL/6 mice are susceptible to fulminant CDI from a BI/NAP1 strain and represent a novel model to further elucidate the host immune response to acute CDI.

• 出版日期2010-12-1