Use of an in-vitro polarized cell culture model to study the translocation of Clostridium difficile toxins
| dc.contributor.author | Du, Timothy | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2007-05-22T15:12:25Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2007-05-22T15:12:25Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 1999-02-01T00:00:00Z | en_US |
| dc.degree.discipline | Medical Microbiology | en_US |
| dc.degree.level | Master of Science (M.Sc.) | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | Clostridium difficile is the etiologic agent of antibiotic-associated diarrhea; the most common form of nosocomial infectious diarrhea. C. difficile produces two large molecular weight protein exotoxins; toxins A and B. In this study, a polarized tissue culture model employing Caco-2 cells grown on Transwell inserts was established to study the translocation of purified Clostridium difficile toxins A and B. Clostridium difficile toxins were $\sp{125}$I labeled and inoculated onto confluent polarized Caco-2 cell monolayers to study translocation dynamics. The ability of toxins A and B to enhance translocation of lipopolysaccharide was also assessed. Electrical resistance measurements were utilized to monitor monolayer confluence and tight junction integrity. Sera from patients afflicted with C. difficile-associated diarrhea were analyzed for circulating cytotoxin, as well as, serum neutralizing antibodies. Synsorb CD and Cholestyramine were also examined for their ability to inhibit cytotoxic effects on Caco-2 cells and Human foreskin fibroblasts. (Abstract shortened by UMI.) | en_US |
| dc.format.extent | 6470999 bytes | |
| dc.format.extent | 184 bytes | |
| dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
| dc.format.mimetype | text/plain | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1993/1997 | |
| dc.language.iso | eng | en_US |
| dc.rights | open access | en_US |
| dc.title | Use of an in-vitro polarized cell culture model to study the translocation of Clostridium difficile toxins | en_US |
| dc.type | master thesis | en_US |