A High-Carbohydrate Diet Prolongs Dysbiosis and Clostridioides difficile Carriage and Increases Delayed Mortality in a Hamster Model of Infection.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to determine whether a high-carbohydrate diet, previously protective in mice, would similarly protect hamsters from Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) or exacerbate the condition.
Results Summary
The high-carbohydrate diet led to dysbiosis, persistent C. difficile carriage, and higher mortality in hamsters, contrasting with its protective effects in mice. Delayed CDI onset and fulminant cases were observed, suggesting the diet may promote long-term C. difficile carriage and relapse risk.
Population
Hamsters (10 per group) as a model for Clostridioides difficile infection.
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
high-carbohydrate diet | no change | microbiome | hamsters | - | developed distinct diet-specific microbiomes | #1 |
high-carbohydrate diet | decrease | microbiome diversity | hamsters | - | lower diversity | #2 |
high-carbohydrate diet | increase | C. difficile carriage | hamsters | - | persistent C. difficile carriage | #3 |
high-carbohydrate diet | decrease | microbiome restoration | hamsters | - | delayed microbiome restoration | #4 |
high-carbohydrate diet | increase | Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) | most hamsters | - | developed fulminant CDI | #5 |
high-carbohydrate diet | increase | dysbiosis | hamsters | - | promoted dysbiosis | #6 |
high-carbohydrate diet | increase | dysbiosis | mouse models of CDI | - | promoted dysbiosis | #7 |
high-carbohydrate diet | increase | C. difficile carriage | mouse models of CDI | - | long-term C. difficile carriage | #8 |
high-carbohydrate diet | increase | mortality | hamster model of CDI | - | higher mortality | #9 |
high-carbohydrate diet | decrease | Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) | mice | - | protect mice against CDI | #10 |
Studies using mouse models of Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) have demonstrated a variety of relationships between dietary macronutrients on antibiotic-associated CDI; however, few of these effects have been examined in more susceptible hamster models of CDI. In this study, we investigated the effect of a high-carbohydrate diet previously shown to protect mice from CDI on the progression and resolution of CDI in a hamster disease model, with 10 animals per group. Hamsters fed the high-carbohydrate diet developed distinct diet-specific microbiomes during antibiotic treatment and CDI, with lower diversity, persistent C. difficile carriage, and delayed microbiome restoration. In contrast to CDI protection in mice, most hamsters fed a high-carbohydrate diet developed fulminant CDI including several cases of late-onset CDI, that were not observed in hamsters fed a standard lab diet. We speculate that prolonged high-carbohydrate diet-specific dysbiosis in these animals allowed C. difficile to persist in the gut of the animals where they could proliferate postvancomycin treatment, leading to delayed CDI onset. This study, along with similar studies in mouse models of CDI, suggests some high-carbohydrate diets may promote antibiotic-associated dysbiosis and long-term C. difficile carriage, which may later convert to symptomatic CDI. IMPORTANCE The effects of diet on CDI are not completely known. Here, we used a high-carbohydrate diet previously shown to protect mice against CDI to assess its effect on a hamster model of CDI and paradoxically found that it promoted dysbiosis, C. difficile carriage, and higher mortality. A common thread in both mouse and hamster experimental models was that the high-carbohydrate diet promoted dysbiosis and long-term carriage of C. difficile, which may have converted to fulminant CDI only in the highly susceptible hamster model system. If diets high in carbohydrates also promote dysbiosis and C. difficile carriage in humans, then these diets might paradoxically increase chances of CDI relapse despite their protective effects against primary CDI.