Expression of Cpgp40/15 in Toxoplasma gondii: a surrogate system for the study of Cryptosporidium glycoprotein antigens.

ABSTRACT: Cryptosporidium parvum is a waterborne enteric coccidian that causes diarrheal disease in a wide range of hosts. Development of successful therapies is hampered by the inability to culture the parasite and the lack of a transfection system for genetic manipulation. The glycoprotein products of the Cpgp40/15 gene, gp40 and gp15, are involved in C. parvum sporozoite attachment to and invasion of host cells and, as such, may be good targets for anticryptosporidial therapies. However, the function of these antigens appears to be dependent on the presence of multiple O-linked alpha-N-acetylgalactosamine (alpha-GalNAc) determinants. A eukaryotic expression system that would produce proteins bearing glycosylation patterns similar to those found on the native C. parvum glycoproteins would greatly

SUBMITTER: O'Connor RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC201096 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature