Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Cryptosporidium Infection Causes Undernutrition and, Conversely, Weanling Undernutrition Intensifies Infection

Cryptosporidium Infection Causes Undernutrition and, Conversely, Weanling Undernutrition... Cryptosporidium parvum is a leading pathogen in children in developing countries. To investigate whether early postnatal malnutrition leads to heavier C. parvum infections, we assessed intestinal adaptation and parasite load in suckling mice during the first 2 wk of life, analogous to the first postnatal yr in humans. Undernutrition was induced by daily C57BL6J pup separation from lactating dams. Half of the pups were separated daily, for 4 hr on day 4, 8 hr on day 5, and for 12 hr from day 6 until day 14. On day 6, each pup received an oral inoculum of 10 5 to 10 7 parasites in 10–25 μl of PBS. Littermate controls received PBS alone. Stools were assessed from days 8, 11, and 14 for oocyst counts. Mice were killed on day 14, 8 days postinoculation, at the peak of the infection. Ileal and colon segments were obtained for histology, real-time and reverse transcriptase PCR, and immunoassays. Villus and crypt lengths and cross-sectional areas were also measured. Undernourished and nourished mice infected with excysted 10 6 or 10 7 oocysts exhibited the poorest growth outcomes compared with their uninfected controls. Nourished 10 6 -infected mice had comparable weight decrements to uninfected undernourished mice. Body weight and villi were additively affected by malnutrition and cryptosporidiosis. Hyperplastic crypts and heavier inflammatory responses were found in the ilea of infected malnourished mice. Undernourished infected mice exhibited greater oocyst shedding, TNF-α and IFN-γ intestinal levels, and mRNA expression compared to nourished mice infected with either 10 5 or 10 6 oocysts. Taken together, these findings show that Cryptosporidium infection can cause undernutrition and, conversely, that weanling undernutrition intensifies infection and mucosal damage. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Parasitology Allen Press

Loading next page...
 
/lp/allen-press/cryptosporidium-infection-causes-undernutrition-and-conversely-V4aXeH6P80

References (53)

Publisher
Allen Press
Copyright
American Society of Parasitologists
Subject
Biochemistry-Physiology
ISSN
0022-3395
eISSN
1937-2345
DOI
10.1645/GE-1411.1
pmid
18576767
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Cryptosporidium parvum is a leading pathogen in children in developing countries. To investigate whether early postnatal malnutrition leads to heavier C. parvum infections, we assessed intestinal adaptation and parasite load in suckling mice during the first 2 wk of life, analogous to the first postnatal yr in humans. Undernutrition was induced by daily C57BL6J pup separation from lactating dams. Half of the pups were separated daily, for 4 hr on day 4, 8 hr on day 5, and for 12 hr from day 6 until day 14. On day 6, each pup received an oral inoculum of 10 5 to 10 7 parasites in 10–25 μl of PBS. Littermate controls received PBS alone. Stools were assessed from days 8, 11, and 14 for oocyst counts. Mice were killed on day 14, 8 days postinoculation, at the peak of the infection. Ileal and colon segments were obtained for histology, real-time and reverse transcriptase PCR, and immunoassays. Villus and crypt lengths and cross-sectional areas were also measured. Undernourished and nourished mice infected with excysted 10 6 or 10 7 oocysts exhibited the poorest growth outcomes compared with their uninfected controls. Nourished 10 6 -infected mice had comparable weight decrements to uninfected undernourished mice. Body weight and villi were additively affected by malnutrition and cryptosporidiosis. Hyperplastic crypts and heavier inflammatory responses were found in the ilea of infected malnourished mice. Undernourished infected mice exhibited greater oocyst shedding, TNF-α and IFN-γ intestinal levels, and mRNA expression compared to nourished mice infected with either 10 5 or 10 6 oocysts. Taken together, these findings show that Cryptosporidium infection can cause undernutrition and, conversely, that weanling undernutrition intensifies infection and mucosal damage.

Journal

Journal of ParasitologyAllen Press

Published: Dec 1, 2008

There are no references for this article.