Unraveling Cecal Alterations in <i>Clostridioides difficile</i> Colonized Mice through Comprehensive Metabolic Profiling

The disruption of gut microbiota caused by antibiotics favors the intestinal colonization of <i>Clostridioides difficile</i> - a Gram-positive, spore-forming anaerobic bacterium that causes potentially fatal gastrointestinal infections. In an endeavor to elucidate the complexities of the gut-brain axis in the context of <i>Clostridium difficile</i> infection (CDI), a murine model has been used to investigate the potential effects of antibiotic administration and subsequent colonization by <i>C. difficile</i>, as well as the impact of three different 10-day treatments (metronidazole, probiotics, and fecal microbiota transplantation), on the cecal metabolome for the first time. This follows our previous research which highlighted the metabolic effect of CDI and these treatments in the brain and employs the same four different metabolomics-based methods (targeted GC-MS/MS, targeted HILIC-MS/MS, untargeted RP-LC-HRMS/MS and untargeted GC-MS). A total of 286 unique metabolites have been identified in the mouse cecal profiles and statistical analysis revealed that CDI, as well as the subsequent treatments, significantly alters cecal metabolites and lipids implicated in various biochemical pathways centered around amino acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and central carbon metabolism. To our knowledge, this study represents the first exploration of the effects of <i>C. difficile</i>-induced colitis and potential treatments on the cecal tissue metabolome.