title: Molecular, immunological, and biological characterization of a toxin A-negative, toxin B-positive strain of Clostridium difficile.
abstract: A cytotoxigenic Clostridium difficile strain that fails to produce toxin A but causes hemorrhage and bloody fluid accumulation in ligated ileal loops of rabbits and hemorrhage and diarrhea in hamsters is described. The lack of reaction of DNA from this strain in hybridization studies with a toxin A gene-specific 4.5-kb probe and polymerase chain reaction studies with six toxin A-specific primers indicate the absence of the toxin A gene. The cytotoxin produced by this strain was not responsible for the enterotoxic or hemorrhagic activity and shared characteristics with toxin B, i.e., its cytotoxicity was neutralized by antibodies to toxigenic strains of C. difficile and Clostridium sordellii. Polymerase chain reaction studies with toxin B-specific primers showed that the DNA from this strain produced a 690-bp product in addition to the expected 591-bp product.
authors.affiliation: Microbial Pathogenicity Research Group, Clinical Research Centre, Harrow, Middlesex, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Borriello
authors.forename: B W
authors.initials: BW
authors.lastname: Wren
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hyde
authors.forename: S V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Seddon
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sibbons
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Krishna
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tabaqchali
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Manek
authors.forename: A B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Price
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000633:toxicity; D001483:Base Sequence; D002852:Chromatography, Ion Exchange; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000378:metabolism*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000473:pathology; D006224:Cricetinae; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000032:analysis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000633:toxicity; D005260:Female; D008647:Mesocricetus; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004768:Enterotoxins; C041348:tcdA protein, Clostridium difficile; C031815:toxB protein, Clostridium difficile