Findings suggest way to help patients heal from life-threatening C.
difficile

Date:
December 13, 2021
Source:
University of Virginia Health System
Summary:
New research sheds light on why a fecal transplant can benefit
patients with dangerous recurrent C. difficile infections --
and suggests a way to improve patient outcomes.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research from the University of Virginia School of Medicine sheds
light on why a fecal transplant can benefit patients with dangerous
recurrent C.

difficile infections -- and suggests a way to improve patient outcomes.


==========================================================================
C. difficile infection causes life-threatening diarrhea, and it often
takes hold in patients in hospitals and nursing homes as a result of
long-term antibiotic use. Doctors have known that fecal transplants -- literally transplanting fecal material from a healthy person into the sick
-- can improve C. difficile outcomes, but they haven't fully understood
why. The new UVA research offers important answers.

"Even though we know that fecal microbiota transplants can treat
recurrent C.

difficile infection, we don't know exactly why some microbe combinations
work better than others or why the same combinations can have different
effects on different people. We believe that this variability stems from
each person's immune system being unique. That is why it is important
for us to find out what immune markers change in patients where fecal microbiota transplantation was successful in preventing C. difficile re-infections," said researcher Ning-Jiun "Ninj" Jan, PhD, of UVA's
Division of Infectious Disease and International Health. "Finding that
a specific immune signaling molecule, IL-25, was increased in successful
fecal microbiota transplantations indicated that maybe IL-25 can be used
as an adjunctive therapy for treating C. difficile infection." Fecal Transplant Benefits The new findings come from the lab of UVA's Chelsea
Marie, PhD, where Jan is a research scientist. To better understand
the effects of fecal transplants on patients with C. difficile, Marie,
Jan and their collaborators looked at blood and colon-tissue samples
collected from patients at the time of their transplants and then again
60 days later.

The researchers found that the transplants increased the presence
of IL-25, an important agent of the immune system, in the patients'
colons. The cytokine serves as a vital link in the communication chain
that controls our body's immune responses. This increase in IL-25 was accompanied by a decrease in damaging tissue inflammation.

The transplants also increased the diversity of the microbes that
naturally live in our colons, the researchers found. These microorganisms
have increasingly been appreciated as essential for good health.

The researchers conclude that the changes triggered by fecal transplants, including beneficial changes in the activity of certain genes, bolster
the ability of the immune system to battle recurrent C. difficile
infections. This ultimately helps patients heal.

The scientists believe that doctors may be able to enhance the benefits
of fecal transplants by using other means to promote IL-25 in patients
battling recurrent C. difficile.

"In the future it may be possible to combine fecal microbiota transplants
with cytokine-based therapies to increase the success rate of treatment,"
Jan said.

"There is a lot of interplay between our immune system
and our intestinal microbes, and it's exciting that
understanding their relationship is helping us find new therapies." ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_Virginia_Health_System. Note: Content may be edited for
style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. N. Jan, R. A. Hays, D. N. Oakland, P. Kumar, G. Ramakrishnan,
B. W. Behm,
W. A. Petri, C. Marie. Fecal Microbiota Transplantation Increases
Colonic IL-25 and Dampens Tissue Inflammation in Patients with
Recurrent Clostridioides difficile. mSphere, 2021; 6 (5) DOI:
10.1128/ mSphere.00669-21 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/12/211213095024.htm

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