Clostridium difficile infection is a major healthcare-associated infection and contributor to morbidity and mortality due to infectious diarrhea that may be accompanied by colitis and pseudomembranous colitis. As an innovator in C. difficile colitis therapeutic development, Protheragen is committed to improving the therapy options available for C. difficile colitis. We offer all-inclusive services for the development of therapies for this unique disorder.

Introduction to Clostridium Difficile Colitis

Clostridium difficile is an anaerobic Gram-positive, spore-forming, and toxin-producing bacillus. Transmission of C. difficile is predominantly through the fecal to oral route where its spores are the main vehicle of transmission. Clostridioides difficile colitis is an important form of antibiotic-associated acquired diarrhea. Typical signs and symptoms include excessive watery diarrhea which usually occurs during or after a course of antibiotics. Some cases of fulminant disease may, however, present with shock, ileus, or megacolon.

Tests for diagnosis of C. difficile infection include:

Fig.1 The harmful impact of C. difficile toxins. (Kordus, S. L., et al., 2022)

Pathogenesis of Clostridium Difficile Colitis

An imbalanced gut microbiome encourages the sprouting of spores as well as the growth of vegetative forms, while also prompting toxin production associated with C. difficile infections. C. difficile infection is accompanied by two powerful exotoxins that cause colitis and diarrhea as well, toxins A and B. These toxins disrupt tight junctions and destroy the cytoskeleton of mucosal lining cells of the colon (colonocytes), leading to fluid secretion, neutrophil adhesion, inflammation, and the formation of pseudomembranes.

Fig.2 FMT therapy for C. difficile infections. (Bai, M., et al., 2023)

Therapeutics Development for Clostridium Difficile Colitis

Disclaimer: Protheragen focuses on providing preclinical research services. This table is for information exchange purposes only. This table is not a treatment plan recommendation. For guidance on treatment options, please visit a regular hospital.

Our Services

The staff of our company includes researchers and scientists from different fields, allowing for a multi-faceted approach to problem-solving at every step of developing the therapy. We understand the uniqueness of each customer and provide tailored solutions for the development of diagnostics and therapeutics for C. difficile colitis. Further, we also provide disease model development services and strong partnerships with our clients which foster transparency and communication towards alignment with project objectives.

Therapeutic Development Services

• Small Molecule Drug
• Cell Therapy Development
• Gene Therapy Development
• Therapeutic Antibody

• Therapeutic Peptide
• Therapeutic Protein
• Microbiome Therapeutic
• More

Animal Model Development Services

The utility of an animal model in studying the mechanisms of C. difficile colitis and facilitating drug development is remarkable. We focus on custom development of animal models for C. difficile colitis and other rare gastrointestinal diseases for the purposes of novel drug screening and research.

Protheragen specializes in pharmacokinetic studies and drug safety assessment to uphold the reliability of the drug development process. With our firm's experience and focus on drug development, clients who select us for developing therapies for C. difficile colitis stand to gain tremendously from our capabilities. Please contact us whenever you need more information on the services we offer.

References

• Kordus, Shannon L et al. "Clostridioides difficile toxins: mechanisms of action and antitoxin therapeutics." Nature reviews. Microbiology 20.5 (2022): 285-298.
• Bai, Mei et al. "Inflammatory bowel disease and Clostridium difficile infection: clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management." Therapeutic advances in gastroenterology 16 (2023): 17562848231207280.

All of our services and products are intended for preclinical research use only and cannot be used to diagnose, treat or manage patients.