Ballard Lab

Research focus

NIH R01 · 2024

Differential Effects of TcdB1 and TcdB2 in C. difficile disease

ABSTRACT The most recent reports indicate Clostridioides difficile is the cause of over 400,000 cases of gastrointestinal illness and nearly 30,000 deaths annually. A major factor in the virulence of C. difficile is TcdB, an intracellular bacterial toxin that glucosylates small GTPases in targeted cells. Our studies focus on determining the critical differences in TcdB1 and TcdB2, the two major variants of TcdB. TcdB1 is produced by historical strains of C. difficile and TcdB2 is produced by hypervirulent/epidemic strains of C. difficile. Understanding how these two forms of TcdB, which share 92% identity, differ in critical steps in intoxication and immunogenicity provides insight into…

From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.