Comparative proteomics reveals Cryptosporidium parvum manipulation of the host cell molecular expression and immune response.

Cryptosporidium is a life-threating protozoan parasite belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa, which mainly causes gastroenteritis in a variety of vertebrate hosts. Currently, there is a re-emergence of Cryptosporidium infection; however, no fully effective drug or vaccine is available to treat Cryptos...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Main Authors: Teng Li, Hua Liu, Nan Jiang, Yiluo Wang, Ying Wang, Jing Zhang, Yujuan Shen, Jianping Cao
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0009949
https://doaj.org/article/d375035e32f348329b3ef35bda0c9eb8
Description
Summary:Cryptosporidium is a life-threating protozoan parasite belonging to the phylum Apicomplexa, which mainly causes gastroenteritis in a variety of vertebrate hosts. Currently, there is a re-emergence of Cryptosporidium infection; however, no fully effective drug or vaccine is available to treat Cryptosporidiosis. In the present study, to better understand the detailed interaction between the host and Cryptosporidium parvum, a large-scale label-free proteomics study was conducted to characterize the changes to the proteome induced by C. parvum infection. Among 4406 proteins identified, 121 proteins were identified as differentially abundant (> 1.5-fold cutoff, P < 0.05) in C. parvum infected HCT-8 cells compared with uninfected cells. Among them, 67 proteins were upregulated, and 54 proteins were downregulated at 36 h post infection. Analysis of the differentially abundant proteins revealed an interferon-centered immune response of the host cells against C. parvum infection and extensive inhibition of metabolism-related enzymes in the host cells caused by infection. Several proteins were further verified using quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. This systematic analysis of the proteomics of C. parvum-infected HCT-8 cells identified a wide range of functional proteins that participate in host anti-parasite immunity or act as potential targets during infection, providing new insights into the molecular mechanism of C. parvum infection.