Abstract
Clostridium difficile (a Gram-positive, spore-forming, strict anaerobe) can colonize antibiotic-treated hosts (McFarland, 2008). Antibiotics alter the composition of the normal, benign microbial flora which leads to loss of colonization resistance (Wilson and Perini, 1988; Antonopoulos et al., 2009). C. difficile spores germinate to actively growing bacteria which secrete toxins that damage the colonic epithelium (Voth and Ballard, 2005). The use of animal models of C. difficile disease have allowed the identification of mechanisms of colonization and virulence factors (Lyras et al., 2009; Kuehne et al., 2010; Francis et al., 2013; Aubry et al., 2012; Carter et al., 2011). This protocol describes virulence studies of C. difficile in the hamster model of C. difficile infection (Bartlett et al., 1978; Sambol et al., 2001).
Keywords: Clostridium difficile, Spore, Virulence, Hamster, Animal model
Materials and Reagents
Equipment
Procedure
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Charlotte Allen and Ritu Shrestha for aiding in the development of this protocol. This protocol is based upon previously published C. difficile virulence studies by Sambol et al. (2001), wherein the authors analyzed the infection of hamsters by epidemiologically important C. difficile isolates. This work was supported by the American Heart Association National Scientist Development grant to JAS (No. 11SDG7160013). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
References
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