Morpholino-mediated in vivo silencing of Cryptosporidium parvum lactate dehydrogenase decreases oocyst shedding and infectivity.

ABSTRACT: Cryptosporidium is a highly prevalent protozoan parasite that is the second leading cause of childhood morbidity and mortality due to diarrhoea in developing countries, and causes a serious diarrheal syndrome in calves, lambs and goat kids worldwide. Development of fully effective drugs against Cryptosporidium has mainly been hindered by the lack of genetic tools for functional characterization and validation of potential molecular drug targets in the parasite. Herein, we report the development of a morpholino-based in vivo approach for Cryptosporidium parvum gene knockdown to facilitate determination of the physiological roles of the parasite's genes in a murine model. We show that, when administered intraperitoneally at non-toxic doses, morpholinos targeting C. parvum lactate dehydrogena

SUBMITTER: Zhang X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6018611 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature