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Infect. Immun. doi:10.1128/IAI.00547-08
Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

Effects of Clostridium perfringens Beta Toxin (CPB) on the Rabbit Small Intestine and Colon

Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA; California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory System, San Bernardino Branch, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: fuzal{at}cahfs.ucdavis.edu.

	Abstract

Clostridium perfringens type B and type C isolates, which produce beta toxin (CPB), cause fatal diseases originating in the intestines of humans or livestock. Our previous studies demonstrated that CPB is necessary for type C isolate CN3685 to cause bloody necrotic enteritis in a rabbit ileal loop model and also showed that purified CPB, in the presence of trypsin inhibitor (TI), can reproduce type C pathology in rabbit ileal loops. The current study reports a more complete characterization of the effects of purified CPB in the rabbit small and large intestine. One microgram of purified CPB, in the presence of TI, was found to be sufficient to cause significant accumulation of hemorrhagic luminal fluid in duodenal, jejunal or ileal loops treated for 6 h with purified CPB, while no damage was observed in corresponding loops receiving CPB (no TI) or TI alone. In contrast to the CPB sensitivity of the small intestine, the colon was not affected by 6 h treatment with even 90 µg of purified CPB, whether or not TI was present. Time-course studies showed that purified CPB begins to induce small intestinal damage within 1 h, at which time the duodenum is less damaged than the jejunum or ileum. These observations help to explain why type B and C infections primarily involve the small intestine, establish CPB as a very potent and fast-acting toxin in the small intestines, and confirm a key role for intestinal trypsin as an innate intestinal defense mechanism against CPB-producing C. perfringens isolates.