Closing in on c. Difficile infection

Access through your institution Buy or subscribe _Clostridiodes difficile_ infection (CDI; formerly known as _Clostridium difficile_ infection) poses a substantial health-care burden, often

resulting in recurrent and difficult-to-treat infections. Findings from two new papers have the potential to push forward diagnosis and treatment of CDI, providing insights into metabolomic

networks during human infection and new approaches to treatment using antisporulation agents, respectively. The researchers found that shifts in faecal metabolomes could distinguish patients

with CDI from those with non-_C. difficile_ diarrhoea or those only colonized by _C. difficile_. Numerous CDI-associated metabolites were identified, and of 2,463 features detected in the

cohort, 43 had some ability to resolve CDI from uncolonized controls. Patients with CDI had a distinct chemical signature of Stickland amino acid fermentation, which was suggestive of _C.

difficile_ preferentially catabolizing branched-chain amino acids during CDI. Noncanonical, unsaturated bile acids (such as cholenoic acid) were depleted in patients with CDI and were more

abundant in the non-CDI group. This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution ACCESS OPTIONS Access through your institution Access Nature and 54 other Nature

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calculated during checkout ADDITIONAL ACCESS OPTIONS: * Log in * Learn about institutional subscriptions * Read our FAQs * Contact customer support REFERENCES ORIGINAL ARTICLES * Robinson,

J. I. et al. Metabolomic networks connect host-microbiome processes to human _Clostridiodes difficile_ infections. _J. Clin. Invest._ https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI126905 (2019) Article  PubMed

  PubMed Central  Google Scholar  * Srikhanta, Y. N. et al. Cephamycins inhibit pathogen sporulation and effectively treat recurrent _Clostridiodes difficile_ infection. _Nat. Microbiol._

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0519-1 (2019) Article  PubMed  Google Scholar  Download references AUTHOR INFORMATION AUTHORS AND AFFILIATIONS * Nature Reviews Gastroenterology &

Hepatology http://www.nature.com/nrgastro/ Katrina Ray Authors * Katrina Ray View author publications You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar CORRESPONDING AUTHOR

Correspondence to Katrina Ray. RIGHTS AND PERMISSIONS Reprints and permissions ABOUT THIS ARTICLE CITE THIS ARTICLE Ray, K. Closing in on _C. difficile_ infection. _Nat Rev Gastroenterol

Hepatol_ 16, 581 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-019-0206-y Download citation * Published: 29 August 2019 * Issue Date: October 2019 * DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-019-0206-y

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