Population Dynamics of Ingested Clostridium difficile in the Gastrointestinal Tract of the Syrian Hamster

The population dynamics of Clostridium difficile in the hamster gastrointestinal tract were studied after intragastric inoculation with organisms and a 51Cr tracer. Seventy-eight percent of spores germinated within the small intestine within 1 hr. Germinated spores and vegetative cells both showed t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of infectious diseases 1985-02, Vol.151 (2), p.355-361
Main Authors: Wilson, Kenneth H., Sheagren, John N., Freter, Rolf
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bacterial diseases
Biological and medical sciences
Cecum
Cecum - microbiology
Chromium Radioisotopes
Clindamycin - pharmacology
Clostridium - physiology
Clostridium difficile
Colon - microbiology
Cricetinae
Digestive System - microbiology
Experimental bacterial diseases and models
Gastrointestinal Motility
Gastrointestinal tract
Infectious diseases
Inoculation
Inoculum
Intestine, Small - microbiology
Kinetics
Medical sciences
Mesocricetus
Original Articles
Plant spores
Small intestine
Spores
Spores, Bacterial - physiology
Stomach
Stomach - microbiology
Viability
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Summary:The population dynamics of Clostridium difficile in the hamster gastrointestinal tract were studied after intragastric inoculation with organisms and a 51Cr tracer. Seventy-eight percent of spores germinated within the small intestine within 1 hr. Germinated spores and vegetative cells both showed two phases of elimination from the hamster cecum — an initial phase of rapid death that was not affected by antibiotic treatment followed by a phase of complete inhibition of multiplication. The latter phase of inhibition was not seen in antibiotic-treated animals and was thus attributable to the indigenous flora. The 51Cr tracer mixed well with cecal contents and was eliminated exponentially with a dilution rate constant ranging from −0.46/hr to −0.31/hr in normal hamsters. The hamster cecum was therefore dynamically analogous to a continuous flow system, a finding supporting the concept that anaerobic continous flow cultures are useful in vitro models of the cecal ecosystem.
ISSN:0022-1899
1537-6613
DOI:10.1093/infdis/151.2.355