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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291

Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291

Published on: December 10, 2016

Clostridium difficile binary toxin (CDT) and diarrhea.

Robert J Carman¹, Adam L Stevens, Matthew W Lyerly

¹TechLab Inc., Blacksburg, VA 24060-6358, USA. rjcarman@techlab.com

|March 8, 2011

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

This study introduces a new immunoassay to detect C. difficile toxin (CDT) in patients. The assay shows good correlation with PCR detection of the CDT locus, aiding in identifying this enteropathogen.

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A Protocol to Characterize the Morphological Changes of Clostridium difficile in Response to Antibiotic Treatment

A Protocol to Characterize the Morphological Changes of Clostridium difficile in Response to Antibiotic Treatment

Published on: May 25, 2017

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Last Updated: Jun 3, 2026

Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291

Cefoperazone-treated Mouse Model of Clinically-relevant Clostridium difficile Strain R20291

Published on: December 10, 2016

A Protocol to Characterize the Morphological Changes of Clostridium difficile in Response to Antibiotic Treatment

A Protocol to Characterize the Morphological Changes of Clostridium difficile in Response to Antibiotic Treatment

Published on: May 25, 2017

Area of Science:

Microbiology
Infectious Diseases
Gastroenterology

Background:

Clostridium difficile is a significant human enteropathogen.
It produces toxins A and B, with a third toxin, C. difficile toxin (CDT), being less understood.
CDT is a binary toxin comprising CdtA and CdtB proteins.

Purpose of the Study:

To develop and evaluate a novel enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) for detecting CdtB protein.
To correlate EIA detection of CdtB protein with PCR detection of the CDT locus in Clostridium difficile isolates.
To explore the implications of CDT detection in patients.

Main Methods:

Development of a novel enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA) to detect CdtB protein in fecal samples and culture fluids.
Utilized Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) to detect the CDT locus (CdtLoc) in Clostridium difficile isolates from fecal samples.
Tested 80 Clostridium difficile isolates.

Main Results:

A good correlation was observed between PCR detection of the cdtB gene and EIA detection of CdtB protein in vitro.
No relationship was found between in situ and in vitro toxin concentrations.
The novel EIA effectively detects CdtB protein.

Conclusions:

The developed EIA is a reliable method for detecting CdtB protein in vitro.
CDT detection in patients can be facilitated by correlating genetic and protein-based assays.
Further investigation into the clinical significance of CDT in Clostridium difficile infections is warranted.