That was the intent behind a new study, led by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, examining infection with the parasite Cryptosporidium. One important clue is the unfortunate linkage between malnutrition and Cryptosporidium infection. “It turns out that animals that are missing this had much higher levels of infection,” Sateriale says. Further work demonstrated that mice lacking caspase-1 just in intestinal epithelial cells suffered infections as high as those lacking it completely, demonstrating the crucial role of the epithelial cell. Moving forward, they are looking to the later stages of Cryptosporidium infection to see how the host successfully tamps it down.

Source: Hindustan Times December 29, 2020 07:03 UTC