title: Population dynamics of ingested Clostridium difficile in the gastrointestinal tract of the Syrian hamster.
abstract: The population dynamics of Clostridium difficile in the hamster gastrointestinal tract were studied after intragastric inoculation with organisms and a 51Cr tracer. Seventy-eight percent of spores germinated within the small intestine within 1 hr. Germinated spores and vegetative cells both showed two phases of elimination from the hamster cecum--an initial phase of rapid death that was not affected by antibiotic treatment followed by a phase of complete inhibition of multiplication. The latter phase of inhibition was not seen in antibiotic-treated animals and was thus attributable to the indigenous flora. The 51Cr tracer mixed well with cecal contents and was eliminated exponentially with a dilution rate constant ranging from -0.46/hr to -0.31/hr in normal hamsters. The hamster cecum was therefore dynamically analogous to a continuous flow system, a finding supporting the concept that anaerobic continuous flow cultures are useful in vitro models of the cecal ecosystem.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002432:Cecum / Q000382:microbiology*; D002860:Chromium Radioisotopes; D002981:Clindamycin / Q000494:pharmacology; D003013:Clostridium / Q000502:physiology*; D003106:Colon / Q000382:microbiology; D006224:Cricetinae; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology*; D005769:Gastrointestinal Motility; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000382:microbiology; D007700:Kinetics; D008647:Mesocricetus; D013171:Spores, Bacterial / Q000502:physiology; D013270:Stomach / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D002860:Chromium Radioisotopes; D002981:Clindamycin