ArticlePathogens and disease2014
Identification, immunogenicity, and cross-reactivity of type IV pilin and pilin-like proteins from Clostridium difficile.
Article in Pathogens and disease, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 32 citations in OpenAlex.
- Insight into the relationship between type IV pilus function and biofilm formation.Biochemical Society transactions · 2026Review
- Article
- Immune Aspects of Clostridioides difficile Infection and Vaccine Development.Infectious disease clinics of North America · 2025Review
- Article
- Immunogenicity of Type IV Pilin Proteins fromMicroorganisms · 2025Article
- Clostridioides difficile Biofilm.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024Article
- Review of the Impact of Biofilm Formation on RecurrentMicroorganisms · 2023Review
- An intact S-layer is advantageous to Clostridioides difficile within the host.PLoS pathogens · 2023Article
- Regulatory transcription factors ofCritical reviews in microbiology · 2023Review
- Monoderm bacteria: the new frontier for type IV pilus biology.Molecular microbiology · 2019Review
- Ethanolamine is a valuable nutrient source that impacts Clostridium difficile pathogenesis.Environmental microbiology · 2018Article
- TargetingFrontiers in microbiology · 2018Review
- Structural Diversity in the Type IV Pili of Multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter.The Journal of biological chemistry · 2016Article
- Article
- Type IV pili promote early biofilm formation by Clostridium difficile.Pathogens and disease · 2016Article
- Regulation of Type IV Pili Contributes to Surface Behaviors of Historical and Epidemic Strains of Clostridium difficile.Journal of bacteriology · 2016Article
- Cyclic di-GMP riboswitch-regulated type IV pili contribute to aggregation of Clostridium difficile.Journal of bacteriology · 2015Article
- Structural and evolutionary analyses show unique stabilization strategies in the type IV pili of Clostridium difficile.Structure (London, England : 1993) · 2015Article
- Clostridium difficile virulence factors: Insights into an anaerobic spore-forming pathogen.Gut microbes · 2014Review
- Pilin Vaccination Stimulates Weak Antibody Responses and Provides No Protection in a C57Bl/6 Murine Model of AcuteJournal of vaccines & vaccinationArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
The Gram-positive anaerobe Clostridium difficile is the major cause of nosocomial diarrhea; manifestations of infection include diarrhea, pseudomembranous colitis, and death. Genes for type IV pili, a bacterial nanofiber often involved in colonization and until relatively recently described only in Gram-negatives, are present in all members of the Clostridiales. We hypothesized that any pilins encoded in the C. difficile genome would be immunogenic, as has been shown with pilins from Gram-negative organisms. We describe nine pilin or pilin-like protein genes, for which we introduce a coherent nomenclature, in the C. difficile R20291 genome. The nine predicted pilin or pilin-like proteins have relatively conserved N-terminal hydrophobic regions, but diverge at their C-termini. Analysis of synonymous and nonsynonymous substitutions revealed evidence of diversifying selective pressure in two pilin genes. Six of the nine identified proteins were purified and used to immunize mice. Immunization of mice with each individual protein generated antibody responses that varied in titer and cross-reactivity, a notable result given the low amino acid sequence identity among the pilins. Further studies in other small mammals mirrored our results in mice. Our results illuminate components of the C. difficile type IV pilus and help identify targets for an anti-C. difficile vaccine.
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Registered trials
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