Clostridioides difficile infection: traversing host-pathogen interactions in the gut.

is the primary cause for nosocomial infective diarrhoea. For a successful infection, must navigate between resident gut bacteria and the harsh host environment. The perturbation of the intestinal microbiota by broad-spectrum antibiotics alters the composition and the geography of the gut microbiota, deterring colonization resistance, and enabling to colonize. This review will discuss how interacts with and exploits the microbiota and the host epithelium to infect and persist. We provide an overview of virulence factors and their interactions with the gut to aid adhesion, cause epithelial damage and mediate persistence. Finally, we document the host responses to , describing the immune cells and host pathways that are associated and triggered during infection.