Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum in Soil Extracts

Epifluorescent microscopy and flow cytometry were used in different combinations with fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled immunoglobulins M and G3 to estimate the numbers of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in soil extracts containing 10 to 10,017 oocysts/ml. No combination had a systematic effect on accuracy or precision. Background debris may have produced overestimates at low oocyst concentrations when flow cytometry was used.     

Infection status of pigs with Cryptosporidium parvum

To investigate the infection status of pigs with Cryptosporidium parvum, 589 fecal samples were collected from pigs raised at farm in Chungcheongbuk-do and Chungcheongnam-do. Of the 589 pig fecal samples, 62 (10.5%) were positive for C. parvum. The area showing the highest positive rate was Dangjin-gun, Chungcheongnam-do (14.0%), and the lowest (0%) Salmi-myon, Chungcheongbuk-do. The positive rate of C. parvum in Judok-eup increased from 12.7% in the winter to 22.1% in the summer. The results of this study suggest that the pigs may be a source of human C. parvum infection.     

Quantitative-PCR Assessment of Cryptosporidium parvum Cell Culture Infection

A quantitative TaqMan PCR method was developed for assessing the Cryptosporidium parvum infection of in vitro cultivated human ileocecal adenocarcinoma (HCT-8) cell cultures. This method, termed cell culture quantitative sequence detection (CC-QSD), has numerous applications, several of which are presented. CC-QSD was used to investigate parasite infection in cell culture over time, the effects of oocyst treatment on infectivity and infectivity assessment of different C. parvum isolates. CC-QSD revealed that cell culture infection at 24 and 48 h postinoculation was approximately 20 and 60%, respectively, of the endpoint 72-h postinoculation infection. Evaluation of three different lots of C. parvum Iowa isolate oocysts revealed that the mean infection of 0.1 N HCl-treated oocysts was only 36% of the infection obtained with oocysts treated with acidified Hanks' balanced salt solution containing 1% trypsin. CC-QSD comparison of the C. parvum Iowa and TAMU isolates revealed significantly higher levels of infection for the TAMU isolate, which agrees with and supports previous human, animal, and cell culture studies. CC-QSD has the potential to aid in the optimization of Cryptosporidium cell culture methods and facilitate quantitative evaluation of cell culture infectivity experiments.     

Cryptosporidium parvum Infection Involving Novel Genotypes in Wildlife from Lower New York State

Cryptosporidium, an enteric parasite of humans and a wide range of other mammals, presents numerous challenges to the supply of safe drinking water. We performed a wildlife survey, focusing on white-tailed deer and small mammals, to assess whether they may serve as environmental sources of Cryptosporidium. A PCR-based approach that permitted genetic characterization via sequence analysis was applied to wildlife fecal samples (n = 111) collected from September 1996 to July 1998 from three areas in lower New York State. Southern analysis revealed 22 fecal samples containing Cryptosporidium small-subunit (SSU) ribosomal DNA; these included 10 of 91 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) samples, 3 of 5 chipmunk (Tamias striatus) samples, 1 of 2 white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) samples, 1 of 2 striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) samples, 1 of 5 racoon (Procyon lotor) samples, and 6 of 6 muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) samples. All of the 15 SSU PCR products sequenced were characterized as Cryptosporidium parvum; two were identical to genotype 2 (bovine), whereas the remainder belonged to two novel SSU sequence groups, designated genotypes 3 and 4. Genotype 3 comprised four deer-derived sequences, whereas genotype 4 included nine sequences from deer, mouse, chipmunk, and muskrat samples. PCR analysis was performed on the SSU-positive fecal samples for three other Cryptosporidium loci (dihydrofolate reductase, polythreonine-rich protein, and beta-tubulin), and 8 of 10 cloned PCR products were consistent with C. parvum genotype 2. These data provide evidence that there is sylvatic transmission of C. parvum involving deer and other small mammals. This study affirmed the importance of wildlife as potential sources of Cryptosporidium in the catchments of public water supplies.     

Aged HCT-8 Cell Monolayers Support Cryptosporidium parvum Infection

Cell culture assays in various formats have been used to study the infectivity of Cryptosporidium spp. as well as to determine the infectivity of naturally occurring oocysts in water. Currently, cell culture assays for infectious Cryptosporidium spp. in water have largely been limited to practice in research laboratories. One obstacle to the routine use of Cryptosporidium cell culture assays for the analysis of water samples is the coordination of water sample collection and processing with readiness of cell culture monolayers. For most Cryptosporidium cell culture assays, monolayers are allowed to develop for 24 to 48 h to reach 80 to 100% confluence prior to inoculation. In this study, we used immunofluorescent assay microscopy to evaluate freshly confluent (2-day-old) and aged (8- to 67-day-old) HCT-8 cell monolayers for their ability to support Cryptosporidium parvum infection. HCT-8 monolayers as old as 67 days were clearly shown to support infection. In two of three experiments, aged monolayers (8- to 11-day-old and 11- to 22-day-old, respectively) developed the same number of C. parvum clusters of infection as freshly confluent monolayers. Results suggest that it may be possible to use cell monolayers from freshly confluent to 3 weeks old on hand for infectivity assays without having to schedule sample processing to coincide with development of freshly confluent monolayers. This would make Cryptosporidium cell culture assays much more feasible for water quality and utility laboratories.     

Global Metabolomic Profiling of Mice Brains following Experimental Infection with the Cyst-Forming Toxoplasma gondii

The interplay between the Apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma gondii and its host has been largely studied. However, molecular changes at the metabolic level in the host central nervous system and pathogenesis-associated metabolites during brain infection are largely unexplored. We used a global metabolomics strategy to identify differentially regulated metabolites and affected metabolic pathways in BALB/c mice during infection with T. gondii Pru strain at 7, 14 and 21 days post-infection (DPI). The non-targeted Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) metabolomics analysis detected approximately 2,755 retention time-exact mass pairs, of which more than 60 had significantly differential profiles at different stages of infection. These include amino acids, organic acids, carbohydrates, fatty acids, and vitamins. The biological significance of these metabolites is discussed. Principal Component Analysis and Orthogonal Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis showed the metabolites’ profile to change over time with the most significant changes occurring at 14 DPI. Correlated metabolic pathway imbalances were observed in carbohydrate metabolism, lipid metabolism, energetic metabolism and fatty acid oxidation. Eight metabolites correlated with the physical recovery from infection-caused illness were identified. These findings indicate that global metabolomics adopted in this study is a sensitive approach for detecting metabolic alterations in T. gondii-infected mice and generated a comparative metabolic profile of brain tissue distinguishing infected from non-infected host.     

Global Metabolomic Profiling of Acute Myocarditis Caused by Trypanosoma cruzi Infection

Chagas disease is caused by Trypanosoma cruzi infection, being cardiomyopathy the more frequent manifestation. New chemotherapeutic drugs are needed but there are no good biomarkers for monitoring treatment efficacy. There is growing evidence linking immune response and metabolism in inflammatory processes and specifically in Chagas disease. Thus, some metabolites are able to enhance and/or inhibit the immune response. Metabolite levels found in the host during an ongoing infection could provide valuable information on the pathogenesis and/or identify deregulated metabolic pathway that can be potential candidates for treatment and being potential specific biomarkers of the disease. To gain more insight into those aspects in Chagas disease, we performed an unprecedented metabolomic analysis in heart and plasma of mice infected with T. cruzi. Many metabolic pathways were profoundly affected by T. cruzi infection, such as glucose uptake, sorbitol pathway, fatty acid and phospholipid synthesis that were increased in heart tissue but decreased in plasma. Tricarboxylic acid cycle was decreased in heart tissue and plasma whereas reactive oxygen species production and uric acid formation were also deeply increased in infected hearts suggesting a stressful condition in the heart. While specific metabolites allantoin, kynurenine and p-cresol sulfate, resulting from nucleotide, tryptophan and phenylalanine/tyrosine metabolism, respectively, were increased in heart tissue and also in plasma. These results provide new valuable information on the pathogenesis of acute Chagas disease, unravel several new metabolic pathways susceptible of clinical management and identify metabolites useful as potential specific biomarkers for monitoring treatment and clinical severity in patients.     

Experimental Cryptosporidium parvum infections in opossums (Didelphis virginiana)

Five nursing opossums (Didelphis virginiana) were each inoculated with 5 x 10(6) Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts of calf origin. Following inoculation, endogenous stages of C. parvum were observed in the ileum, cecum, and colon of these opossums. Two of three noninoculated pouch mates acquired infections during the study based on examinations of feces and tissue sections of all eight opossums. Mild diarrhea was observed in four of seven opossums harboring C. parvum, although none died as a result of the infection. Under the conditions of this study, C. parvum appeared to be only mildly pathogenic for opossums.     

Characterization of Host Cell Mutants Significantly Resistant to Cryptosporidium parvum Infection

Cryptosporidium parvum is a parasitic protist and a causative agent of mild‐to‐severe diarrheal diseases in humans and animals. Despite its globally recognized importance, knowledge on the mechanism of parasite invasion and molecular interactions between host cells and the parasite is limited. Here, we report the establishment of 43 mutant cell lines derived from HCT‐8 cells by UV‐induced mutagenesis and the characterization of three mutants with significantly reduced susceptibility to cryptosporidial infection. Based on qRT‐PCR assay performed at 18 h postinfection time, the parasite loads could be reduced by ~45%, ~35%, and ~20% in mutants A05, B08, and B12, respectively (p < 0.001 in all three mutants vs. HCT‐8 cells). The mutagenesis mainly affected the attachment of parasite in A05 (i.e. ~30% reduction, p < 0.001 vs. HCT‐8), and intracellular development in B08 and B12. The three cell mutants may serve as valuable reagents to further investigate the mechanism of parasite invasion and intracellular development by identifying the gene mutations associated with the parasite attachment (A05) and intracellular development (B08 and B12).     

Characterization of the thioredoxin peroxidase from Cryptosporidium parvum

Cryptosporidium parvum can survive exposure to harsh environmental conditions, various disinfectants, and high doses of γ-radiation. Recently, it was found that the expression of thioredoxin peroxidase (CpTPx) in C. parvum increased after a high dose of γ-irradiation to the parasite. CpTPx is a two-cysteine peroxiredoxin that contains cysteines at positions 49 and 170. Recombinant CpTPx fused to an N-terminal hexahistidine sequence, (His)₆-CpTPx, exhibited substantial thiol-dependent peroxidase activity that protected plasmid DNA from damage by metal-catalyzed oxidation in vitro. (His)₆-CpTPx was used to screen sera from C. parvum-infected mice and humans for antibodies against CpTPx. In Western blots, 10% of the mouse sera and 20% of the human sera reacted with (His)₆-CpTPx, suggesting that after infection by C. parvum CpTPx can induce a host-immune reaction but is not a major antigen. Immunolocalization studies revealed that CpTPx is expressed mainly in the cytoplasm of C. parvum at various developmental stages.     

Molecular identification of Cryptosporidium parvum from avian hosts

Cryptosporidium species are protozoan parasites that infect humans and a wide variety of animals. This study was aimed at identifying Cryptosporidium species and genotypes isolated from avian hosts. A total of 90 samples from 37 different species of birds were collected throughout a 3-month period from April 2008 to June 2008 in the National Zoo of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Prior to molecular characterization, all samples were screened for Cryptosporidium using a modified Ziehl-Neelsen staining technique. Subsequently samples were analysed with nested-PCR targeting the partial SSU rRNA gene. Amplicons were sequenced in both directions and used for phylogenetic analysis using Neighbour-Joining and Maximum Parsimony methods. Although 9 (10%) samples were positive for Cryptosporidium via microscopy, 8 (8.9%) produced amplicons using nested PCR. Phylogenetic trees identified all the isolates as Cryptosporidium parvum. Although C. parvum has not been reported to cause infection in birds, and the role of birds in this study was postulated mainly as mechanical transporters, these present findings highlight the significant public health risk posed by birds that harbour the zoonotic species of Cryptosporidium.     

Experimental Cryptosporidium parvum infection in a Korean native calf isolated from a Korean mouse]

This study was performed to investigate experimental transmission of Cryptosporidium parvum in a calf. A 25-day-old Korean native calf was inoculated per os with 1 x 10(6) C. parvum oocysts isolated from a Korean mouse. The calf commenced oocyst discharge in feces on post-inoculation day 4, and continued until the day 11. The number of discharged oocysts peaked (4.9 x 10(5)) on post-inoculation day 6. However, the calf did not show signs of diarrhea. The present results indicate that C. parvum is cross-transmissible between the calf and the mouse.     

Cellular biology of Cryptosporidium parvum

With the emergence of Cryptosporidium parvum as a major pathogen encountered in human and veterinary clinical practice, a need for increased knowledge of the cellular- and immuno-biology of this Apicomplexan parasite has developed. Initial work has used paradigms taken from other Apicomplexans, especially Plasmodium, Toxoplasma and Eimeria, as a starting point. In this article, Carolyn Petersen discusses the observation that in these organisms, molecular targets of antibodies (which have protective value, in vivo, against disease) have frequently been located in the apical complex or on the surface of the invasive stages of the parasite and appear to mediate biologically crucial processes including motility, attachment to the host cell, modification of the host membrane, and entry into the host cell. Molecular-biology approaches to the study of enzymes and of structural proteins which mediate motility are also considered. Invasion mechanisms, biochemical pathways and motility may involve molecules that will prove susceptible to immunotherapeutic or chemotherapeutic interruption of cryptosporidiosis.     

Studies of in vitro excystation of Cryptosporidium parvum from calves

Studies of in vitro excystation of Cryptosporidium parvum from calves showed that sporozoite yields were optimum when oocysts were treated with sodium hypochlorite, then incubated at 37 degrees C for 60 min in the presence of taurocholic acid solutions at pH about 7.0. Trypsin was not required for excystation and high concentrations were inhibitory. Studies using protease inhibitors and direct assays for proteolysis failed to implicate proteolytic enzymes as effectors of excystation. The results suggest that Cryptosporidium uses excystation mechanisms that are different from those used by Eimeria spp.