Clinical trial NCT05192148: Seroprevalence of Antibodies to Surface Antigens and Toxins of Clostridioides Difficile
Official title: Seroprevalence of Antibodies to Surface Antigens and Toxins of Clostridioides Difficile
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Clostridium Difficile Infection
Lead sponsor: Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-01-14
Enrollment: 840
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: OTHER

Brief summary: Data on the seroprevalence of antibodies to Clostridioides difficile surface proteins and toxins are scarce.

In 1983, Viscidi et al. showed that antibodies to C. difficile toxins A and B were detected in 60 to 70% of an adult population. Two-thirds of the adults tested had a serological trace, probably linked to a previous encounter with C. difficile.

One of the hypotheses raised would be that exposure to this pathogen occurs very early and regularly throughout our lives. Indeed, in this study, antibodies to C. difficile toxins were detected from early childhood and persisted over time even after 60 years. The antibody response did not appear to vary with age or terrain. However, these results were only qualitative and did not allow for inter-individual variations due to the limitations of the techniques used at the time. Finally, in this work, it was important to underline that the neutralizing character of the cytotoxic effect of toxins on cell culture was not observed in all patients.

Since this seminal work, several studies have shown that the host immune response plays a central role in the pathophysiology of C. difficile infections (CDI). In 2000, Kyne et al. showed that after colonization with a toxigenic C. difficile strain, patients with asymptomatic carriage had significantly higher serum levels of IgG directed against toxin A than patients who developed disease. Subsequently, they also showed in 2001 that a serum response directed against toxin A after a first episode of CDI was associated with less recurrence. Finally, Leav et al. showed in 2010 that a serum response directed against C. difficile toxin B was also associated with protection against recurrent forms.

Several studies have also suggested that the host immune response, this time directed against colonization factors, could also play a major role in the evolution and prognosis of CDI. In a previous study, investigators showed a significant difference in the level of anti-SlpA antibodies (S-layer component) between CDI patients and control patients.

At the same time, the epidemiology of CDI has changed since 2003 due to the emergence of a new epidemic and hypervirulent strain (PCR ribotype 027) producing a third toxin, the binary toxin. The humoral response to this toxin remains poorly described to date.

On the basis of these numerous studies, new therapeutic immunization strategies (active or passive) aimed at neutralizing the action of C. difficile toxins and colonization factors have been or are being developed.

However, it remains to identify the patients likely to benefit from these innovative strategies. This was the main objective of the SERODIFF study (currently being finalized), which identified certain patient profiles in which no seroconversion or isotype class switching of antibodies was observed following CDI. The absence of neutralizing antibody production would seem to correlate with recurrent forms. Thus, these patients would be those who could be eligible for a passive immunization strategy such as the administration of anti-toxin B monoclonal antibodies, bezlotoxumab, recently marketed in France.

In this study, investigators aim to evaluate the seroprevalence stratified by age group, sex and by the main risk factors for CDI. Furthermore, the neutralizing and protective effect of the detected antibodies against C. difficile virulence factors will be studied.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult patient (≥ 18 years) hospitalized in targeted short-stay (MCO) and long-stay (LTC) services for each of the three identified regions
* French-speaking patient
* Patient affiliated to the social security system or, failing that, to another health insurance system
* Patient able to give free, informed and written consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* History of blood transfusion, vascular filling, dialysis or polyvalent immunoglobulin infusion.
* Patient deprived of liberty
* Patient under court protection
* Patient in an emergency situation
* Patients unable to give personal consent, including adults under guardianship

Primary outcomes:
measure: Overall seroprevalence of antibodies to the major virulence factors of Clostridioides difficile
timeFrame: Day 1
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Immune response profiles
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Observed immune responses
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Determination of the seroprevalence of antibodies directed specifically against binary toxins
timeFrame: Day 1
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Paris
country: France
facility: Groupe Hospitalier Paris Saint-Joseph
city: Paris
country: France
facility: Hôpital Sainte-Marie Paris
city: Toulon
country: France
facility: Centre de SSR Pierre Chevalier
city: Toulon
country: France
facility: Hôpital d'Instruction des Armées Sainte Anne,
city: Valenciennes
country: France
facility: Centre Hospitalier de Valenciennes
Study officials:
affiliation: Fondation Hôpital Saint-Joseph
name: Alban LE MONNIER, MD, PhD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References:
citation: Viscidi R, Laughon BE, Yolken R, Bo-Linn P, Moench T, Ryder RW, Bartlett JG. Serum antibody response to toxins A and B of Clostridium difficile. J Infect Dis. 1983 Jul;148(1):93-100. doi: 10.1093/infdis/148.1.93.
citation: Rousseau C, Poilane I, De Pontual L, Maherault AC, Le Monnier A, Collignon A. Clostridium difficile carriage in healthy infants in the community: a potential reservoir for pathogenic strains. Clin Infect Dis. 2012 Nov;55(9):1209-15. doi: 10.1093/cid/cis637. Epub 2012 Jul 25.
citation: Kyne L, Warny M, Qamar A, Kelly CP. Asymptomatic carriage of Clostridium difficile and serum levels of IgG antibody against toxin A. N Engl J Med. 2000 Feb 10;342(6):390-7. doi: 10.1056/NEJM200002103420604.
citation: Kyne L, Warny M, Qamar A, Kelly CP. Association between antibody response to toxin A and protection against recurrent Clostridium difficile diarrhoea. Lancet. 2001 Jan 20;357(9251):189-93. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)03592-3.
citation: Leav BA, Blair B, Leney M, Knauber M, Reilly C, Lowy I, Gerding DN, Kelly CP, Katchar K, Baxter R, Ambrosino D, Molrine D. Serum anti-toxin B antibody correlates with protection from recurrent Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Vaccine. 2010 Jan 22;28(4):965-9. doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2009.10.144. Epub 2009 Nov 24.
citation: Aboudola S, Kotloff KL, Kyne L, Warny M, Kelly EC, Sougioultzis S, Giannasca PJ, Monath TP, Kelly CP. Clostridium difficile vaccine and serum immunoglobulin G antibody response to toxin A. Infect Immun. 2003 Mar;71(3):1608-10. doi: 10.1128/IAI.71.3.1608-1610.2003.
citation: Lowy I, Molrine DC, Leav BA, Blair BM, Baxter R, Gerding DN, Nichol G, Thomas WD Jr, Leney M, Sloan S, Hay CA, Ambrosino DM. Treatment with monoclonal antibodies against Clostridium difficile toxins. N Engl J Med. 2010 Jan 21;362(3):197-205. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0907635.
citation: Gerding DN, Kelly CP, Rahav G, Lee C, Dubberke ER, Kumar PN, Yacyshyn B, Kao D, Eves K, Ellison MC, Hanson ME, Guris D, Dorr MB. Bezlotoxumab for Prevention of Recurrent Clostridium difficile Infection in Patients at Increased Risk for Recurrence. Clin Infect Dis. 2018 Aug 16;67(5):649-656. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciy171.