This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Vidal, J. E.
Right arrow Articles by Uzal, F. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Vidal, J. E.
Right arrow Articles by Uzal, F. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Infection and Immunity, October 2008, p. 4396-4404, Vol. 76, No. 10
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00547-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of Clostridium perfringens Beta-Toxin on the Rabbit Small Intestine and Colon{triangledown}

Jorge E. Vidal,1 Bruce A. McClane,1 Juliann Saputo,2 Jaquelyn Parker,2 and Francisco A. Uzal2*

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,1 California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, San Bernardino Branch, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California2

Received 5 May 2008/ Returned for modification 10 June 2008/ Accepted 5 July 2008

Clostridium perfringens type B and type C isolates, which produce beta-toxin (CPB), cause fatal diseases originating in the intestines of humans or livestock. Our previous studies demonstrated that CPB is necessary for type C isolate CN3685 to cause bloody necrotic enteritis in a rabbit ileal loop model and also showed that purified CPB, in the presence of trypsin inhibitor (TI), can reproduce type C pathology in rabbit ileal loops. We report here a more complete characterization of the effects of purified CPB in the rabbit small and large intestines. One microgram of purified CPB, in the presence of TI, was found to be sufficient to cause significant accumulation of hemorrhagic luminal fluid in duodenal, jejunal, or ileal loops treated for 6 h with purified CPB, while no damage was observed in corresponding loops receiving CPB (no TI) or TI alone. In contrast to the CPB sensitivity of the small intestine, the colon was not affected by 6 h of treatment with even 90 µg of purified CPB whether or not TI was present. Time course studies showed that purified CPB begins to induce small intestinal damage within 1 h, at which time the duodenum is less damaged than the jejunum or ileum. These observations help to explain why type B and C infections primarily involve the small intestine, establish CPB as a very potent and fast-acting toxin in the small intestines, and confirm a key role for intestinal trypsin as an innate intestinal defense mechanism against CPB-producing C. perfringens isolates.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, San Bernardino Branch, University of California-Davis, 105 West Central Avenue, San Bernardino, CA 92408. Phone: (909) 383-4287. Fax: (909) 884-5980. E-mail: fuzal{at}cahfs.ucdavis.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 14 July 2008.

Editor: S. R. Blanke

Infection and Immunity, October 2008, p. 4396-4404, Vol. 76, No. 10
0019-9567/08/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/IAI.00547-08
Copyright © 2008, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Miclard, J., van Baarlen, J., Wyder, M., Grabscheid, B., Posthaus, H. (2009). Clostridium perfringens {beta}-toxin binding to vascular endothelial cells in a human case of enteritis necroticans. J Med Microbiol 58: 826-828 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»