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A Protein Microarray Assay for Serological Determination of Antigen-specific Antibody Responses Following Clostridium difficile Infection
09:12

A Protein Microarray Assay for Serological Determination of Antigen-specific Antibody Responses Following Clostridium difficile Infection

Published on: June 15, 2018

Hyperimmune bovine colostrum for treatment of GI infections: a review and update on Clostridium difficile

Jennifer Steele1, Jerlyn Sponseller, Diane Schmidt

  • 1Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine; Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health; North Grafton, MA USA.

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics
|February 26, 2013
PubMed

Hyperimmune bovine colostrum (HBC), produced by vaccination of a cow during gestation, is rich in targeted immunoglobulins, and can be used to treat a variety of diseases. The published history of HBC use for treating gastrointestinal infections in humans has developed over the past several decades and demonstrates the promise of this type of therapeutic for GI infectious disease. HBC, or purified derivative products, have been used successfully for treatment or prevention of cryptosporidiosis, shigellosis, rotavirus, enterotoxigenic E. coli, and C. difficile infection (CDI). Given the positive results of previous studies using HBC for treatment of CDI, we have produced HBC with antibodies against the two most important virulence factors of C. difficile, TcdA and TcdB, using a novel recombinant vaccine. Our preliminary results demonstrate efficacy of the HBC product for treatment of CDI in the gnotobiotic piglet model, and warrant more thorough investigation. HBC may provide an effective treatment alternative to antibiotics, which can spare the normal gut microflora, and reduce rates of recurrence and antibiotic resistance.

Keywords:
Clostridium difficilediarrheagastrointestinal infectionhyperimmune bovine colostrumpreventiontreatment

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