title: Role of interleukin 23 signaling in Clostridium difficile colitis.
abstract: Clostridium difficile is currently the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections in the United States. Here, we observed increased interleukin 23 (IL-23) protein levels in human colon biopsy specimens positive for C. difficile toxins, compared with levels in negative controls (P = .008) We also investigated the role of IL-23 during C. difficile infection, using 2 distinct murine models. Mice lacking IL-23 signaling had a significant increase in survival (100% [12 mice]), compared with control mice (16.7%-50% [12 mice]). These data suggest a new potential drug target for human C. difficile treatment and indicate the first link between IL-23 and disease severity during murine infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, USA.
authors.forename: Erica L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Buonomo
authors.forename: Rajat
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Madan
authors.forename: Patcharin
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pramoonjago
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Mark D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Okusa
authors.forename: William A
authors.initials: WA
authors.lastname: Petri
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001706:Biopsy; D016360:Clostridioides difficile; D003015:Clostridium Infections / Q000276:immunology*; D003092:Colitis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000382:microbiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053759:Interleukin-23 / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D015398:Signal Transduction; D013048:Specimen Handling
chemical_list: D053759:Interleukin-23
keywords: Clostridium difficile; Interleukin-10; Th17 cytokines, enteric; colitis; interleukin 23 (IL-23); lamina propria; mucosal immunity; nosocomial