en ميكروبیولوژی Microbiology پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif="" style="font-family:Calibri,"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Background & Objectives:</span></span></i></b><b> </b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease of the central nervous system (CNS). <i>Clostridium</i> <i>perfringens</i> &epsilon;-toxin (ETX) can cause emerging complications of MS due to its tendency to the blood-brain barrier. This study aimed to determine the presence of toxin-producing genes in intestinal <i>C.perfringens </i>in patients with multiple sclerosis. </span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif="" style="font-family:Calibri,"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Materials & Methods:</span></span></i></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> Stool samples were taken from 70 MS patients and 70 without MS individuals. The samples were enriched in cooked meat media, and cultural and biochemical methods separated <i>Clostridium</i> <i>isolate</i>s. PCR tested these isolates to identify <i>C</i>. <i>perfringens</i> species. In addition, the presence of alpha, beta, epsilon and iota toxin-producing genes was evaluated in all isolates by Multiplex PCR.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif="" style="font-family:Calibri,"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Results:</span></span></i></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> Isolates containing the <i>etx</i> gene were observed in 10 patients, while no <i>itx</i>A gene was identified in any isolates. The results showed that isolates in 8 patients were type D. Also, the gene encoding toxin type D was identified in 2 isolates obtained from the control group.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:normal"><span style="unicode-bidi:embed"><span sans-serif="" style="font-family:Calibri,"><b><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Conclusion:</span></span></i></b><b> </b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Our findings indicated the high frequency of <i>C. Perfringens</i> in MS patients. In the studied samples with clinical presentations, most of these organisms were type D bacteria that produce &epsilon;-toxin.</span></span></span></span></span></span><br> <br> <span dir="RTL"></span></div> Clostridium perfringence, ε-toxin, multiple sclerosis, toxin-producing genes 325 335 http://jabs.fums.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-2237-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Maryam Sheykhzade Asadi مریم شیخ زاده Maryam.sh1358@yahoo.com 100319475328460026561 100319475328460026561 No Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran گروه میکروبیولوژی، دانشکده علوم، واحد شیراز، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، شیراز، ایران Babak Kheirkhah بابک خیرخواه babakkheirkhah@yahoo.com 100319475328460026562 100319475328460026562 Yes Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Baft Branch, Islamic Azad University, Baft, Iran گروه میکروبیولوژی، دانشکده دامپزشکی، واحد بافت، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، ایران Nima Bahador نیما بهادر Nima44bahador@gmail.com 100319475328460026563 100319475328460026563 No Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Shiraz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shiraz, Iran گروه میکروبیولوژی، دانشکده علوم، واحد شیراز، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، شیراز، ایران