Abstract
In the attempt to improve the purification yield of native toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB) from Clostridioides difficile (C. difficile), we systematically evaluated culture parameters for their influence on toxin production. In this study, we showed that culturing C. difficile in a tryptone-yeast extract medium buffered in PBS (pH 7.5) that contained 5 mM ZnCl2 and 10 mM glucose supported the highest TcdB production, measured by the sandwich ELISA. These culture conditions were scalable into 5 L and 15 L dialysis tube cultures, and we were able to reach a TcdB concentration of 29.5 µg/mL of culture. Furthermore, we established a purification protocol for TcdA and TcdB using FPLC column chromatography, reaching purities of >99% for both toxins with a yield around 25% relative to the starting material. Finally, by screening the melting temperatures of TcdA and TcdB in various buffer conditions using differential scanning fluorimetry, we found optimal conditions for improving the protein stability during storage. The results of this study present a complete protocol for obtaining high amounts of highly purified native TcdA and TcdB from C. difficile.