Advantages:
- Novel Vaccine Approach: Vacine targeting C. difficile flagellar proteins FliC and FliD.
- Enhanced Protection: FliCD provides robust immunity, reduces C. difficile infection severity, and decreases spore and toxin levels in feces.
- Potential Alternative Therapy: Anti-FliCD serum demonstrates promise as an adjunct therapy for CDI, alongside vaccination.
Summary:
Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile) is an anaerobic, spore-forming, Gram-positive bacterium. C difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea and colitis. Currently, a few antibiotic treatment options are available for CDI, which are plagued by high recurrence rates (15-35%) and increasing resistance. Active vaccination provides the attractive opportunity to prevent CDI and recurrence.
Our researchers developed a recombinant fusion protein vaccine that contains Clostridioides difficile flagellar proteins FliC and FliD.FliC and FliD, play crucial roles in infections by aiding in host-cell adhesion, cell invasion, auto-agglutination, colonization, and biofilm formation. They also regulate and secrete non-flagellar bacterial proteins associated with virulence. Immunization of mice with FliCD induced potent IgG and IgA antibody responses against FliCD, protected mice against C. difficile infection and decreased C. difficile spores and toxin levels in the feces after infection. Additionally, the anti-FliCD serum inhibited the binding of C. difficile vegetative cells to HCT8 cells. These results suggest that FliCD may represent an effective vaccine candidate against CDI.
Immunization of mice with FliCD decreases the C. difficile spores and toxins in feces after a challenge with C. difficile spores.
Desired Partnerships:
- License
- Sponsored Research
- Co-Development