title: Toxin-specific antibodies for the treatment of Clostridium difficile: current status and future perspectives.
abstract: Therapeutic agents targeting bacterial virulence factors are gaining interest as non-antibiotic alternatives for the treatment of infectious diseases. Clostridium difficile is a Gram-positive pathogen that produces two primary virulence factors, enterotoxins A and B (TcdA and TcdB), which are responsible for Clostridium difficile-associated disease (CDAD) and are targets for CDAD therapy. Antibodies specific for TcdA and TcdB have been shown to effectively treat CDAD and prevent disease relapse in animal models and in humans. This review summarizes the various toxin-specific antibody formats and strategies under development, and discusses future directions for CDAD immunotherapy, including the use of engineered antibody fragments with robust biophysical properties for systemic and oral delivery.
authors: Institute for Biological Sciences, National Research Council of Canada, 100 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Greg.Hussack@nrc-cnrc.gc.ca
authors: Greg
authors: G
authors: Hussack
authors: Jamshid
authors: J
authors: Tanha
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000276:immunology; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D001427:Bacterial Toxins / Q000276:immunology*; D016360:Clostridioides difficile / Q000276:immunology / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004761:Enterocolitis, Pseudomembranous / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000276:immunology; D004768:Enterotoxins / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D011994:Recombinant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D037521:Virulence Factors
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D001427:Bacterial Toxins; D004768:Enterotoxins; D011994:Recombinant Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors; C041348:tcdA protein, Clostridium difficile; C031815:toxB protein, Clostridium difficile