Small Molecules Take A Big Step Against Clostridium difficile

Greg L Beilhartz; John Tam; Roman A Melnyk

doi:10.1016/j.tim.2015.10.009

Small Molecules Take A Big Step Against Clostridium difficile

Trends Microbiol. 2015 Dec;23(12):746-748. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2015.10.009. Epub 2015 Nov 5.

Authors

Greg L Beilhartz¹, John Tam¹, Roman A Melnyk²

Affiliations

¹ Molecular Structure & Function, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada.
² Molecular Structure & Function, The Hospital for Sick Children, 686 Bay Street, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada; Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada. Electronic address: roman.melnyk@sickkids.ca.

PMID: 26547239
DOI: 10.1016/j.tim.2015.10.009

Abstract

Effective treatment of Clostridium difficile infections demands a shift away from antibiotics towards toxin-neutralizing agents. Work by Bender et al., using a drug that attenuates toxin action in vivo without affecting bacterial survival, demonstrates the exciting potential of small molecules as a new modality in the fight against C. difficile.

Keywords: Clostridium difficile; TcdB; ebselen; inhibitor; small molecule.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Comment

MeSH terms

Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use*
Clostridioides difficile / isolation & purification*
Clostridium Infections / drug therapy*
Virulence / drug effects*

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents

Grants and funding

Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada