title: Experimental cecitis in gnotobiotic quails monoassociated with Clostridium butyricum strains isolated from patients with neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis and from healthy newborns.
abstract: Using axenic quails fed a diet containing lactose, we have investigated the potentially pathogenic roles of six Clostridium butyricum strains of human origin. Three strains (CB155-3, CB1002, and CB203-1) isolated from neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis patients and two of three strains (CB19-1 and CB25-2) isolated from healthy newborns led to cecal or crop lesions or both similar to those observed in human neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis: thickening of the cecal wall with gas cysts, hemorrhagic ulcerations, and necrotic areas. The lactose-negative strain (CB46-1) did not develop any lesions. The neuraminidase-producing strain (CB155-3) caused lesions in all monoassociated quails, whereas the other strains caused lesions in 28 to 85% of animals. Removal of dietary lactose suppressed all pathological incidence. These results show that lactose fermentation is a prerequisite in these pathological changes and stress the roles played by both the strain and the host in the expression of C. butyricum enteropathogenicity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire d'Ecologie Microbienne, Centre de Recherches de Jouy-en-Josas, France.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Bousseboua
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Le Coz
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dabard
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Szylit
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Raibaud
authors.forename: M R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Popoff
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ravisse
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002432:Cecum / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology; D003013:Clostridium / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D005856:Germ-Free Life; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011784:Quail / Q000502:physiology*