BioCentury
ARTICLE | Distillery Therapeutics

Therapeutics: Clostridium difficile toxin B (TcdB)

October 15, 2015 7:00 AM UTC

In vitro and mouse studies suggest ebselen could be repurposed to treat Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Screening of a small molecule library in an assay for binding to the cysteine protease domain of TcdB identified ebselen as a TcdB inhibitor (IC50 = 6.9 nM). In a mouse model of TcdB-induced toxicity, ebselen decreased toxicity and increased survival compared with vehicle. In a mouse model of CDI, ebselen decreased inflammatory cell infiltration and pathology in the intestine compared with vehicle. Next steps could include testing ebselen in additional animal models of CDI.

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