Gosteva, V.V., Klitsunova, N.V., Bondarenko, V.M.

Interaction of Clostridium difficile with bacterial associations of parietal biofilm in colon of mice

Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology, Moscow, Russia

Using electron microscopy, ultrastructural organization of microbial parietal biofilm in colon of immunodeficient mice line B10-hr^rhy was studied before and after peroral inoculation with enteropathogenic strain of Clostridium difficile. It was shown that infection leads to dispersion of normal biofilm in various sites and imbalance in natural proportions of different bacterial associations. Also, clear ultrastructural signs of involution of Gram-negative microorganisms were observed. In the remaining areas of the biofilm, density of bacterial population increased. In the same areas massive intrusion of microorganisms in epitheliocytes occurred with their subsequent localization in phagosomes, phagolysosomes and, in some cases, in the cytoplasm of degenerating eukaryotic cells.
Zh. Mikrobiol. (Moscow), 2009, No. 1, P. 3—6