细菌反击

与引入抗生素之前相比，细菌感染的致命性要低得多。 “在我们使用抗生素之前，猩红热等感染甚至可能导致心脏问题。

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.

抗生素耐药性是一个日益严重的威胁，迫切需要新的解决方案。一种有前途的方法是开发 mRNA 疫苗，该疫苗在预防 COVID-19 方面已经显示出巨大的希望。现在，研究人员正在使用相同的技术来研制针对艰难梭菌（C. difficile）的疫苗，这种细菌会导致严重的肠道感染，尤其是住院患者的肠道感染。

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.

艰难梭菌感染 (CDI) 是一个主要的健康问题，在美国每年影响约 500,000 名患者，并导致 30,000 人死亡。 CDI 的另一个影响是，35% 的病例往往会再次发生。在这些首次复发的病例中，60% 将进一步复发，并有可能变成一个长期问题。

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.

由于 CDI 主要影响弱势群体、年轻人、老年人或重病患者，这也会降低他们从其他健康问题中恢复的速度。艰难梭菌孢子也具有很强的抵抗力，因此很难在环境中完全消除它们，尤其是在医院和医疗中心。

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.

为了解决这个问题，研究人员使用了 mRNA-LNP（脂质纳米粒子）疫苗平台，该平台为我们提供了 mRNA COVID-19 疫苗。与传统疫苗相反，mRNA 疫苗可以训练免疫系统以多种不同的方式针对细菌。

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.

艰难梭菌 mRNA 疫苗旨在针对该细菌不同菌株中发现的一种酶，该酶可处理肠道定植和毒力所需的多种表面因子。因此，这不仅有助于针对一般细菌，而且至少在理论上，它应该特别影响毒性最强的菌株。

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.

在动物模型中进行测试时，实验疫苗对所有形式的艰难梭菌（包括营养细胞和孢子）产生了强烈的免疫反应。免疫反应是通过长寿命 T 细胞、抗毒素免疫球蛋白 G 和粘膜抗体反应介导的。

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.

这使得小鼠能够 100% 存活，并且对肠道微生物组的其余部分没有可测量的影响，而肠道微生物组越来越被认为是维持整体健康的关键因素。