細菌反擊

與引入抗生素之前相比，細菌感染的致命性要低得多。 「在我們使用抗生素之前，猩紅熱等感染甚至可能導致心臟問題。

Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat, and new solutions are urgently needed. One promising approach is the development of mRNA vaccines, which have already shown great promise in preventing COVID-19. Now, researchers are using this same technology to create a vaccine against Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), a bacterium that causes severe intestinal infections, especially in hospitalized patients.

抗生素抗藥性是日益嚴重的威脅，迫切需要新的解決方案。一種有前途的方法是開發 mRNA 疫苗，該疫苗在預防 COVID-19 方面已經顯示出巨大的希望。現在，研究人員正在使用相同的技術來開發針對艱難梭菌（C. difficile）的疫苗，這種細菌會導致嚴重的腸道感染，尤其是住院患者的腸道感染。

C. difficile infections (CDIs) are a major health concern, affecting around 500,000 patients yearly in the USA and causing 30,000 deaths. Another effect of CDIs is that they tend to be re-occurring in 35% of the cases. Among these first re-occurring cases, 60% will re-occur further, potentially turning into a chronic issue.

艱難梭菌感染 (CDI) 是一個主要的健康問題，在美國每年影響約 50 萬名患者，並導致 3 萬人死亡。 CDI 的另一個影響是，35% 的病例往往會再次發生。在這些首次復發的病例中，60% 將進一步復發，並有可能變成長期問題。

As CDI affects mostly vulnerable populations, the very young or old people, or seriously sick, this can also reduce their recovery from other health issues. C. difficile spores are also very resistant, making their complete elimination in the environment difficult, especially in hospitals and healthcare centers.

由於 CDI 主要影響弱勢群體、年輕人、老年人或重症患者，這也會降低他們從其他健康問題中恢復的速度。艱難梭菌孢子也具有很強的抵抗力，因此很難在環境中完全消除它們，尤其是在醫院和醫療中心。

To tackle this issue, researchers used the mRNA-LNP (Lipid NanoParticle) vaccine platform, the same platform that gave us the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines. Contrary to traditional vaccines, mRNA vaccines can train the immune system to target the bacteria in several different ways.

為了解決這個問題，研究人員使用了 mRNA-LNP（脂質奈米粒子）疫苗平台，該平台為我們提供了 mRNA COVID-19 疫苗。與傳統疫苗相反，mRNA 疫苗可以訓練免疫系統以多種不同的方式針對細菌。

The C. difficile mRNA vaccine was designed to target an enzyme found in diverse strains of this bacterium that processes several surface factors required for gut colonization and virulence. So not only should this help target the bacteria in general, but it should, at least in theory, affect especially the most virulent strains.

艱難梭菌 mRNA 疫苗旨在針對該細菌不同菌株中發現的一種酶，該酶可處理腸道定植和毒力所需的多種表面因子。因此，這不僅有助於針對一般細菌，而且至少在理論上，它應該特別影響毒性最強的菌株。

When tested in animal models, the experimental vaccine created a strong immune response against all forms of C. difficile, including vegetative cells and spores. The immune response was mediated through long-lived T cells, anti-toxin immunoglobulin G, and mucosal antibody responses.

在動物模型中進行測試時，實驗疫苗對所有形式的艱難梭菌（包括營養細胞和孢子）產生了強烈的免疫反應。免疫反應是透過長壽命 T 細胞、抗毒素免疫球蛋白 G 和黏膜抗體反應介導的。

This allowed for 100% survival of the mice, as well as no measurable impact on the rest of the gut microbiome, increasingly understood as a key factor in maintaining overall health.

這使得小鼠能夠 100% 存活，並且對腸道微生物組的其餘部分沒有可測量的影響，而腸道微生物組越來越被認為是維持整體健康的關鍵因素。