Type IV pili are involved in phenotypes associated with Clostridioides difficile pathogenesis
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Updated: Jul 23, 2025

Visualization of Twitching Motility and Characterization of the Role of the PilG in Xylella fastidiosa
Published on: April 8, 2016
Zirou Ouyang1, Hanlin Zhao2, Min Zhao1
1Hebei Provincial Center for Clinical Laboratories, The Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang City, Hebei Province, China.
Abstract:
Clostridioides difficile is a Gram-positive, spore-forming, rod-shaped, obligate anaerobe that is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Type IV pili (T4P) are elongated appendages on the surface of C. difficile that are polymerized from many pilin proteins. T4P play an important role in C. difficile adherence and particularly in its persistence in the host intestine. Recent studies have shown that T4P promote C. difficile aggregation, surface motility, and biofilm formation, which may enhance its pathogenicity. Additionally, the second messenger cyclic diguanylate increases pilA1 transcript abundance, indirectly promoting T4P-mediated aggregation, surface motility, and biofilm formation of C. difficile. This review summarizes recent advances in C. difficile T4P research and the physiological activities of T4P in the context of C. difficile pathogenesis.
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