title: Binding of Clostridium difficile to Caco-2 epithelial cell line and to extracellular matrix proteins.
abstract: Adhesion of Clostridium difficile to Caco-2 was examined as a function of monolayers polarization and differentiation. The number of adherent C. difficile C253 bacteria per cell strongly decreased when postconfluent 15-day-old monolayers were used (1.7 bacteria per cell versus 17.3 with 3-day-old monolayers). Following disruption of intercellular junctions by ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N,N',N',-tetraacetic acid, a significant rise in the level of bacterial adhesion was observed, above all in postconfluent monolayers. Immunofluorescence studies of bacteria and transferrin receptor, a marker of basolateral pole of polarized monolayers, showed that C. difficile C253 adheres mainly to the basolateral surface of differentiated and undifferentiated polarized Caco-2 cells. Furthermore, binding of C. difficile C253 to several extracellular matrix proteins in vitro was demonstrated by an ELISA-based assay.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Bacteriology and Medical Mycology, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. mcerquet@iss.it
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cerquetti
authors.forename: Annalucia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Serafino
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sebastianelli
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Mastrantonio
mesh_terms: D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000502:physiology*; D018938:Caco-2 Cells; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000502:physiology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000382:microbiology; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D005455:Fluorescent Antibody Technique; D006801:Humans; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins