# Genetic Analysis of Cryptosporidium

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $393,350

## Abstract

Cryptosporidium is an apicomplexan parasite and one of the most important causes of severe diarrheal
disease. More than 50% of U.S. outbreaks linked to water use are caused by Cryptosporidium and the
parasite is thus considered a category B potential bioterrorism agent. Immunosuppressed patients are
extremely susceptible and suffer life-threatening chronic disease, cryptosporidiosis is an original AIDS
defining opportunistic infections. Globally, children under the age of two bear the main disease burden
and Cryptosporidium is the second most important diarrheal pathogen in this group. Over the initial
period of support we developed stable transformation, a series of reporter genes and CRISPR-Cas9
mediated gene knock out. We apply and further hone these new tools to investigate how this intracellular
parasite manipulates its host cell. Cryptosporidium thrives in a uniquely remodeled cellular niche cells
that is critical to pathogenesis, drug susceptibility and immune interaction. Our central hypothesis is that
the parasite injects proteins directly into host enterocytes and that those proteins are the mechanistic
effectors of invasion, remodeling and immune evasion. We have discovered the first set of such factors in
C. parvum. This application will use an array of modern approaches to define the parasite's exported
proteome and to understand the function of effector proteins to first establish and then maintain parasite
infection.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9897477
- **Project number:** 5R01AI112427-08
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** BORIS STRIEPEN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $393,350
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2014-05-15 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9897477

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9897477, Genetic Analysis of Cryptosporidium (5R01AI112427-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9897477. Licensed CC0.

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