Drs. Ramakrishnan and Petri (pictured fourth and fifth from left) with “Team C. Diff” celebrating the award of the NIH grant.
One of the most common hospital-acquired infections in the U.S. is C. difficile infection (CDI), caused by a highly contagious bacterium that leads to diarrhea and colitis. It is estimated that one in five patients with CDI suffers a recurrence.
To combat this potentially life-threatening infection, UVA researchers William A. Petri, MD, PhD, Jr., and Girija Ramakrishan, PhD, in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases and International Health, are studying fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT), with the goal to provide novel therapeutic approaches to C. difficile colitis prevention and management.
Dr. Petri and his collaborators will use a new $3.2 million NIH grant to investigate three key steps in FMT protection from C. difficile colitis: blocking sympathetic nervous system activation that promotes inflammation; activation of protective Innate Lymphoid Cells 2 that protects the gut; and activation of EFG receptor pathways that promote epithelial proliferation, or a repair of the lining of the colon.
With nearly 500,000 people in the U.S. developing C. difficile each year, a better understanding of the steps in FMT-mediated protection will lead to improved treatment outcomes for patients suffering from the infection.
Read more about Dr. Petri’s C. difficile research in a Medicine in Motion story published in October 2024.
Filed Under: Research