title: Inhibitory effect of a copper-dipeptide complex on the establishment of a Clostridium perenne strain in the intestinal tract of gnotobiotic mice.
abstract: A semisynthetic diet fed to axenic mice was found to prevent the establishment of a Clostridium perenne strain in their intestinal tract. This inhibitory effect did not occur when axenic mice were preinoculated with a strain of Clostridium difficile. The inhibitory effect was related to the presence in the intestinal contents of axenic mice of both dietary copper and a dipeptide, aspartic-epsilon-lysine. When C. difficile was inoculated into axenic mice, the dipeptide disappeared from the digesta, and C. perenne became established even in the presence of high concentrations of copper.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003013:Clostridium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development*; D003300:Copper / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004032:Diet; D004064:Digestive System / Q000382:microbiology*; D004151:Dipeptides / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005856:Germ-Free Life; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D004151:Dipeptides; C038815:aspartyllysine; D003300:Copper