An ultrasensitive rapid immunocytotoxicity assay for detecting Clostridium difficile toxins

J Microbiol Methods. 2009 Jul;78(1):97-100. doi: 10.1016/j.mimet.2009.04.007. Epub 2009 Apr 23.

Abstract

We describe a novel ultrasensitive cell-based immunocytotoxicity assay for detecting Clostridium difficile toxin A and B. The assay is simple to perform with a turnaround time of approximately 3 h . It is particularly sensitive in detecting TcdA at a level less then 1 pg/ml. Using this assay, we were able to detect the presence of C. difficile toxins in the fecal and serum specimens of experimentally infected piglets.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / immunology
  • Bacterial Toxins / immunology
  • Bacterial Toxins / isolation & purification*
  • Bacterial Toxins / pharmacology
  • Biological Assay / methods*
  • Cell Line
  • Clostridium difficile / chemistry*
  • Clostridium difficile / immunology
  • Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic / methods*
  • Cytotoxins / immunology
  • Cytotoxins / isolation & purification*
  • Cytotoxins / pharmacology
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Swine

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Bacterial Toxins
  • Cytotoxins