Clostridiodes difficile infection (CDI) is the leading cause of hospital-acquired gastrointestinal infections in the U.S. While the immune response to C. difficile is not well understood, it has been shown that severe disease is accompanied by high levels of infiltrating immune cells and pro-inflammatory cytokine production. This study tests the roles of two type 2 cytokines, IL-4 and IL-5, in mediating protection in a murine model of disease. Administration of IL-5 protected from mortality due to CDI, and both IL-4 and IL-5 were protective against severe disease symptoms. Together, the results from this study increase our understanding of how type 2 immune signaling processes are protective from severe C. difficile infection.

艰难梭菌感染 (CDI) 是美国医院获得性胃肠道感染的主要原因 虽然对艰难梭菌的免疫反应尚不清楚，但已经表明严重的疾病伴随着高水平的浸润性免疫细胞和亲-炎性细胞因子的产生。该研究测试了两种 2 型细胞因子 IL-4 和 IL-5 在介导疾病小鼠模型中的保护作用。IL-5 的给药保护免于因 CDI 导致的死亡，并且 IL-4 和 IL-5 都对严重的疾病症状有保护作用。总之，这项研究的结果增加了我们对 2 型免疫信号传导过程如何保护免受严重艰难梭菌感染的理解。