ArticlePloS one2013
Surface-layer protein A (SlpA) is a major contributor to host-cell adherence of Clostridium difficile.
Article in PloS one, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 82 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
82 citing papers in PubMed, 124 citations in OpenAlex.
- Clostridioides difficile pathogenesis and control.Nature reviews. Microbiology · 2026Review
- Structural determinants of SlpA-mediated phage recognition in Clostridioides difficile.PLoS pathogens · 2025Article
- Phenotypic analysis of variousApplied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- A new age in structural S-layer biology: Experimental and in silico milestones.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2025Review
- PPAR-γ agonist mitigates intestinal barrier dysfunction and inflammation induced by Clostridioides difficile SlpA in vitro.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Article
- Review
- Revealing roles of S-layer protein (SlpA) inMicrobiology spectrum · 2024Article
- A monoclonal antibody collection for C. difficile typing ?Gut pathogens · 2024Article
- Pathogenicity and virulence ofVirulence · 2023Review
- Engineered Secretory Immunoglobulin A provides insights on antibody-based effector mechanisms targetingbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2023Article
- An intact S-layer is advantageous to Clostridioides difficile within the host.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- Host Immune Responses to Surface S-Layer Proteins (SLPs) ofMicroorganisms · 2023Review
- Review
- S-layer proteins as immune players: Tales from pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria.Current research in microbial sciences · 2023Review
- Article
- Genomic and Phenotypic Characterization of the Nontoxigenic Clostridioides difficile Strain CCUG37785 and Demonstration of Its Therapeutic Potential for the Prevention of C. difficile Infection.Microbiology spectrum · 2022Article
- TheMicrobiology spectrum · 2022Article
- Application of recombinant antibodies for treatment ofFrontiers in immunology · 2022Review
- Rapid-format recombinant antibody-based methods for the diagnosis ofFrontiers in microbiology · 2022Review
22 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
Clostridium difficile is a leading cause of antibiotic-associated diarrhea, and a significant etiologic agent of healthcare-associated infections. The mechanisms of attachment and host colonization of C. difficile are not well defined. We hypothesize that non-toxin bacterial factors, especially those facilitating the interaction of C. difficile with the host gut, contribute to the initiation of C. difficile infection. In this work, we optimized a completely anaerobic, quantitative, epithelial-cell adherence assay for vegetative C. difficile cells, determined adherence proficiency under multiple conditions, and investigated C. difficile surface protein variation via immunological and DNA sequencing approaches focused on Surface-Layer Protein A (SlpA). In total, thirty-six epidemic-associated and non-epidemic associated C. difficile clinical isolates were tested in this study, and displayed intra- and inter-clade differences in attachment that were unrelated to toxin production. SlpA was a major contributor to bacterial adherence, and individual subunits of the protein (varying in sequence between strains) mediated host-cell attachment to different extents. Pre-treatment of host cells with crude or purified SlpA subunits, or incubation of vegetative bacteria with anti-SlpA antisera significantly reduced C. difficile attachment. SlpA-mediated adherence-interference correlated with the attachment efficiency of the strain from which the protein was derived, with maximal blockage observed when SlpA was derived from highly adherent strains. In addition, SlpA-containing preparations from a non-toxigenic strain effectively blocked adherence of a phylogenetically distant, epidemic-associated strain, and vice-versa. Taken together, these results suggest that SlpA plays a major role in C. difficile infection, and that it may represent an attractive target for interventions aimed at abrogating gut colonization by this pathogen.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.