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Clostridium difficile

Hypoxia-inducible factor protects intestinal mucosa from Clostridium difficile induced injury

Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology volume 7, page 476 (2010)Cite this article

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Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) signaling protects the intestinal mucosa from injury induced by Clostridium difficile toxins, according to the results of a study published in Gastroenterology.

C. difficile toxins induce intestinal injury by disrupting the intestinal epithelial barrier. Innate host response mechanisms are currently not well understood. “In the intestinal mucosa, activation of the HIF1 complex leads to the production of factors that aid in the maintenance of barrier function, including intestinal trefoil factor, CD73 and MUC3,” explains Simon Hirota, one of the authors of the study. “Given the importance of this pathway in the maintenance of barrier function, we hypothesized that mucosal induction of HIF1 signaling was an innate response to C. difficile [infection] and that the downstream production of protective factors could afford barrier protection in C. difficile-associated disease.”

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ORIGINAL RESEARCH PAPER

  1. Hirota, S. A. et al. Hypoxia-inducible factor signaling provides protection in Clostridium difficile-induced intestinal injury. Gastroenterology 139, 259–269 (2010)

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  1. Isobel Franks
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Franks, I. Hypoxia-inducible factor protects intestinal mucosa from Clostridium difficile induced injury. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol 7, 476 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2010.127

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrgastro.2010.127

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