title: A vaccine and diagnostic target for Clostridium bolteae, an autism-associated bacterium.
abstract: Constipation and diarrhea are common in autistic patients. Treatment with antibiotics against bacteria appears to partially alleviate autistic-related symptoms. Clostridium bolteae is a bacterium that has been shown to be overabundant in the intestinal tract of autistic children suffering from gastric intestinal ailments, and as such is an organism that could potentially aggravate gastrointestinal symptoms. We set out to investigate the cell-wall polysaccharides of C. bolteae in order to evaluate their structure and immunogenicity. Our explorations revealed that C. bolteae produces a conserved specific capsular polysaccharide comprised of rhamnose and mannose units: [→3)-α-D-Manp-(1→4)-β-d-Rhap-(1→], which is immunogenic in rabbits. These findings are the first description of a C. bolteae immunogen and indicate the prospect of using this polysaccharide as a vaccine to reduce or prevent C. bolteae colonization of the intestinal tract in autistic patients, and as a diagnostic marker for the rapid detection of C. bolteae in a clinical setting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada.
authors.forename: Brittany
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pequegnat
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sagermann
authors.forename: Moez
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Valliani
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toh
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chow
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Allen-Vercoe
authors.forename: Mario A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Monteiro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D001428:Bacterial Vaccines / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D002473:Cell Wall / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D003013:Clostridium / Q000276:immunology*; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000276:immunology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D004187:Disaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D009005:Monosaccharides / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology*; D011817:Rabbits; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic
chemical_list: D001428:Bacterial Vaccines; D004187:Disaccharides; D009005:Monosaccharides; D011135:Polysaccharides, Bacterial; D014614:Vaccines, Synthetic