Polymorphic mucin antigens CpMuc4 and CpMuc5 are integral to Cryptosporidium parvum infection in vitro.

ABSTRACT: Cryptosporidium, a waterborne enteric parasite, is a frequent cause of diarrheal disease outbreaks worldwide. Thus far, the few antigens shown to be important for attachment to and invasion of the host cell by Cryptosporidium are all mucin-like glycoproteins. In order to investigate other antigens that could be important for Cryptosporidium host-parasite interactions, the Cryptosporidium genome databases were mined for other mucin-like genes. A single locus of seven small mucin sequences was identified on chromosome 2 (CpMuc1 to -7). Reverse transcriptase PCR analysis demonstrated that all seven CpMucs were expressed throughout intracellular development. CpMuc4 and CpMuc5 were selected for further investigation because of the significant sequence divergence between Cryptosporidium parvum a

SUBMITTER: O'Connor RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2669191 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature