Alteration of intestinal microbiome of clostridioides difficile-infected hamsters during the treatment with specific cow antibodies

Hans Jürgen Heidebrecht, Ilias Lagkouvardos, Sandra Reitmeier, Claudia Hengst, Ulrich Kulozik, Michael W. Pfaffl

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) often develops after pretreatment with antibiotics, which can lead to damage of the intestinal microbiome. The approach of this study was to use specific polyclonal antibodies isolated from the milk of immunized cows to treat CDI, in contrast to the standard application of nonspecific antibiotics. To gain a deeper understanding of the role of the microbiome in the treatment of CDI with bovine antibodies, stool and intestinal fluid samples of hamsters were collected in large quantities from various treatments (>400 samples). The results show that the regeneration of the microbiome instantly begins with the start of the antibody treatment, in contrast to the Vancomycin-treated group where the diversity decreased significantly during the treatment duration. All antibody-treated hamsters that survived the initial phase also survived the entire study period. The results also show that the regeneration of the microbiome was not an antibody-induced regeneration, but a natural regeneration that occurred because no microbiota-inactivating substances were administered. In conclusion, the treatment with bovine antibodies is a functional therapy for both the acute treatment and the prevention of recurrence in hamsters and could meet the urgent need for CDI treatment alternatives in humans.

Original languageEnglish
Article number724
JournalAntibiotics
Volume10
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2021

Keywords

  • 16S rRNA
  • Bovine immunoglobulins
  • C. difficile
  • Hamsters
  • Microbiome
  • Next generation sequencing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Alteration of intestinal microbiome of clostridioides difficile-infected hamsters during the treatment with specific cow antibodies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this