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Meléndez-Sánchez D, Hernández L, Ares M, Méndez Tenorio A, Flores-Luna L, Torres J, Camorlinga-Ponce M. Genomic and phenotypic studies among Clostridioides difficile isolates show a high prevalence of clade 2 and great diversity in clinical isolates from Mexican adults and children with healthcare-associated diarrhea. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0394723. [PMID: 38864670 PMCID: PMC11218462 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.03947-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is widely distributed in the intestinal tract of humans, animals, and in the environment. It is the most common cause of diarrhea associated with the use of antimicrobials in humans and among the most common healthcare-associated infections worldwide. Its pathogenesis is mainly due to the production of toxin A (TcdA), toxin B (TcdB), and a binary toxin (CDT), whose genetic variants may be associated with disease severity. We studied genetic diversity in 39 C. difficile isolates from adults and children attended at two Mexican hospitals, using different gene and genome typing methods and investigated their association with in vitro expression of toxins. Whole-genome sequencing in 39 toxigenic C. difficile isolates were used for multilocus sequence typing, tcdA, and tcdB typing sequence type, and phylogenetic analysis. Strains were grown in broth media, and expression of toxin genes was measured by real-time PCR and cytotoxicity in cell-culture assays. Clustering of strains by genome-wide phylogeny matched clade classification, forming different subclusters within each clade. The toxin profile tcdA+/tcdB+/cdt+ and clade 2/ST1 were the most prevalent among isolates from children and adults. Isolates presented two TcdA and three TcdB subtypes, of which TcdA2 and TcdB2 were more prevalent. Prevalent clades and toxin subtypes in strains from children differed from those in adult strains. Toxin gene expression or cytotoxicity was not associated with genotyping or toxin subtypes. In conclusion, genomic and phenotypic analysis shows high diversity among C. difficile isolates from patients with healthcare-associated diarrhea. IMPORTANCE Clostridioides difficile is a toxin-producing bacterial pathogen recognized as the most common cause of diarrhea acquired primarily in healthcare settings. This bacterial species is diverse; its global population has been divided into five different clades using multilocus sequence typing, and strains may express different toxin subtypes that may be related to the clades and, importantly, to the severity and progression of disease. Genotyping of children strains differed from adults suggesting toxins might present a reduced toxicity. We studied extensively cytotoxicity, expression of toxins, whole genome phylogeny, and toxin typing in clinical C. difficile isolates. Most isolates presented a tcdA+/ tcdB+/cdt+ pattern, with high diversity in cytotoxicity and clade 2/ST1 was the most prevalent. However, they all had the same TcdA2/TcdB2 toxin subtype. Advances in genomics and bioinformatics tools offer the opportunity to understand the virulence of C. difficile better and find markers for better clinical use.
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Affiliation(s)
- D. Meléndez-Sánchez
- Posgrado en Biomedicina y Biotecnología Molecular, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Ciudad de México, México
| | - Laura Hernández
- Human Systems Biology Laboratory, Instituto Nacional de Medicina Genómica (INMEGEN), México City, México
| | - Miguel Ares
- Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitarias, UMAE Pediatría, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México City, México
| | - A. Méndez Tenorio
- Laboratorio de Bioinformática y Biotecnología Genómica, Departamento de Bioquímica, Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México City, México
| | - Lourdes Flores-Luna
- Centro de Investigación en Salud Poblacional, Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública, Cuernavaca, Morelos, México
| | - Javier Torres
- Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitarias, UMAE Pediatría, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México City, México
| | - M. Camorlinga-Ponce
- Unidad de Investigación en Enfermedades Infecciosas y Parasitarias, UMAE Pediatría, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social, México City, México
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Schwartz O, Rohana H, Azrad M, Shor A, Rainy N, Maor Y, Nesher L, Sagi O, Ken-Dror S, Kechker P, Peretz A. Characterization of community-acquired Clostridioides difficile strains in Israel, 2020-2022. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1323257. [PMID: 38169783 PMCID: PMC10758451 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1323257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Background The prevalence of community-acquired Clostridioides difficile infection (CA-CDI) has been rising, due to changes in antibiotics prescribing practices, emergence of hypervirulent strains and improved diagnostics. This study explored CA-CDI epidemiology by examining strain diversity and virulence factors of CA-CDI isolates collected across several geographical regions in Israel. Methods Stool samples of 126 CA-CDI patients were subjected to PCR and an immunoassay to identify toxin genes and proteins, respectively. Toxin loci PaLoc and PaCdt were detected by whole-genome sequencing (WGS). Biofilm production was assessed by crystal violet-based assay. Minimum inhibitory concentration was determined using the Etest technique or agar dilution. WGS and multi-locus sequence typing (MLST) were used to classify strains and investigate genetic diversity. Results Sequence types (ST) 2 (17, 13.5%), ST42 (13, 10.3%), ST104 (10, 8%) and ST11 (9, 7.1%) were the most common. All (117, 92.8%) but ST11 belonged to Clade 1. No associations were found between ST and gender, geographic area or antibiotic susceptibility. Although all strains harbored toxins genes, 34 (27%) produced toxin A only, and 54 (42.9%) strains produced toxin B only; 38 (30.2%) produced both toxins. Most isolates were biofilm-producers (118, 93.6%), primarily weak producers (83/118, 70.3%). ST was significantly associated with both biofilm and toxin production. Conclusion C. difficile isolates in Israel community exhibit high ST diversity, with no dominant strain. Other factors may influence the clinical outcomes of CDI such as toxin production, antibiotic resistance and biofilm production. Further studies are needed to better understand the dynamics and influence of these factors on CA-CDI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orna Schwartz
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel
- Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, The Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Hanan Rohana
- Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Tzafon Medical Center, Poriya, Israel
| | - Maya Azrad
- Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Tzafon Medical Center, Poriya, Israel
| | - Anna Shor
- Shamir Medical Center, Be’er Ya’akov, Israel
| | - Nir Rainy
- Shamir Medical Center, Be’er Ya’akov, Israel
| | - Yasmin Maor
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Infectious Diseases Unit, The Edith Wolfson Medical Center, Holon, Israel
| | - Lior Nesher
- Infectious Diseases Institute, Soroka University Medical Center, Be’er Sheba, Israel
- Faculty of Health Sciences Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be’er Sheba, Israel
| | - Orli Sagi
- Microbiology Laboratory, Soroka University Medical Center, Be’er Sheba, Israel
| | - Shifra Ken-Dror
- W. Hirsch Regional Microbiology Laboratory, Clalit Health Services, Haifa, Israel
| | - Peter Kechker
- W. Hirsch Regional Microbiology Laboratory, Clalit Health Services, Haifa, Israel
| | - Avi Peretz
- Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Safed, Israel
- Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Tzafon Medical Center, Poriya, Israel
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Clostridioides difficile Infection: A Never-Ending Challenge. J Clin Med 2022; 11:jcm11144115. [PMID: 35887876 PMCID: PMC9317075 DOI: 10.3390/jcm11144115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 07/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
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Chaudhry R, Sharma N, Bahadur T, Khullar S, Agarwal SK, Gahlowt A, Gupta N, Kumar L, Kabra SK, Dey AB. Molecular characterization of Clostridioides difficile by multi-locus sequence typing (MLST): A study from tertiary care center in India. Anaerobe 2022; 75:102545. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2022.102545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 03/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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