困難梭狀芽胞桿菌（Clostridium difficile）是一種重要的人畜共患病原體，可引起嚴重的胃腸道疾病。困難梭狀芽胞桿菌的嚴重感染會引起其他許多疾病，例如腹部絞痛，水樣腹瀉，與抗生素有關的腹瀉，中毒性巨結腸，結腸穿孔和敗血病，甚至威脅生命的假膜性結腸炎(pseudomembranous colitis ; PMC）也是由困難梭狀芽胞桿菌感染（Clostridium difficile infection ; CDI）所引起的嚴重結腸疾病。這些CDI疾病是通過糞便途徑傳播，主要影響醫院或長期護理機構中免疫力低下的患者，通常在使用抗生素治療後容易發生。許多研究表示，該疾病的嚴重程度與菌株是否包含腸毒素A（TcdA），細胞毒素B（TcdB）和二元毒素（binary toxin）有密切相關性。對tcdA、tcdB、cdtA、cdtB等基因和調節基因rstA的調查將是控制困難梭狀芽胞桿菌造成疾病傳播的重要策略。本實驗研究結果顯示，來自我們所蒐集到的困難梭狀芽胞桿菌分離株，大多數具有侵入腸道上皮細胞的毒性活性，並且這些主要毒力因子和調節因子，在每個分離株中都有所不同的表現。希望藉由本實驗研究所做出的結果，能夠提供更多的資訊，以增進對該病原菌致病機制的了解和認知。? Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) is an importantly zoonotic pathogen and cause severe gastrointestinal disease. The severe infection of C. difficile would cause other many disease such as abdominal cramping, watery diarrhea, antibiotic-associated diarrhea, toxic megacolon, perforation of the colon, and septicemia. Life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis (PMC) is a severe colonic disease which caused by Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). These diseases of CDI are transmitted by fecal-oral route, which mainly affects low immunity of patients in hospitals or in long-term care facilities and usually occurs after use of antibiotic treatment. Many studies indicated that the severity of the disease will also be closely related to whether the strains were contained enterotoxin A (tcdA), cytotoxin B (tcdB) and binary toxin (cytolethal distending toxin). The survey of tcdA, tcdB, cdtA, and cdt B genes and regulatory genes rstA will be an important strategy in controlling the dissemination of C. difficile-associated severe disease. The results of study indicated that most C. difficile isolates from our study were the potentially toxic activity to invade the intestinal epithelial cells and these major virulence factors and regulatory factors were different in individual specimens. This study will provide more information to improve understanding and monitoring of pathogenesis.
