Human microsporidian pathogen Encephalitozoon intestinalis impinges on enterocyte membrane trafficking and signaling.

ABSTRACT: Microsporidia are a large phylum of obligate intracellular parasites. Approximately a dozen species of microsporidia infect humans, where they are responsible for a variety of diseases and occasionally death, especially in immunocompromised individuals. To better understand the impact of microsporidia on human cells, we infected human colonic Caco2 cells with Encephalitozoon intestinalis, and showed that these enterocyte cultures can be used to recapitulate the life cycle of the parasite, including the spread of infection with infective spores. Using transmission electron microscopy, we describe this lifecycle and demonstrate nuclear, mitochondrial and microvillar alterations by this pathogen. We also analyzed the transcriptome of infected cells to reveal host cell signaling alterat

SUBMITTER: Flores J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7938802 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature