Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan Medical School researchers found that calcium in the gut may help Clostridium difficile bacteria germinate.
The new research shows C. diff, which forms hard-shelled spores to survive, need excess calcium to germinate or break its dormancy when it reaches the gut.
C. diff recognizes the extra calcium, along with bile salt produced in the liver, and uses it to break open its hard shell and spread infection.
The researchers used a mouse model for this study, and found mice with calcium-depleted guts had a 90 percent lower rate of C. diff spore germination.
"These spores are like armored seeds, and they can pass through the gut's acidic environment intact," says Philip Hanna, PhD, senior author of the study and a professor of microbiology and immunology at University of Michigan. "Much of the spore's own weight is made of calcium, but we've shown that calcium from the gut can work with bile salts to trigger the enzyme needed to activate the spore and start the germination process."
Researchers published their findings in PLoS Pathogens.