Dissection of the hierarchy and synergism of the bile derived signal on Cryptosporidium parvum excystation and infectivity.

Bile salts have been identified as an important trigger for excystation of Cryptosporidium oocysts but the hierarchy or synergism of this signal in relation to other triggers involved in excystation is poorly understood. In addition to excystation, bile salts have also been reported to increase the invasiveness of sporozoites within in vitro culture, possibly by affecting the secretory pathway via modification of intracellular calcium signalling. Nevertheless, incorporation of bile or bile salts into in vitro assays is not universal, with recent reports of negative effects on parasite growth. Here we report that bile and sodium taurocholate significantly affect both excystation rate and parasite in vitro growth. We demonstrate that their effect on excystation is dose, time and pre-treatment temperature dependent, while increases in parasite replication appear to be associated with modulation of parasite intracellular calcium and increased host cell susceptibility to infection. Notably, we illustrate that bile has a significant effect on host cells and can be cytotoxic at concentrations not much higher than those currently used for in vitro assays. This work should assist with more rational design of in vitro culture systems, with significant considerations for assay format when incorporating bile or bile salts as an excystation trigger.

Cryptosporidium cell culture infectivity assay design.

Members of the genus Cryptosporidium, which cause the gastrointestinal disease cryptosporidiosis, still represent a significant cause of water-borne disease worldwide. While intensive efforts have been invested in the development of techniques for parasite culture, in vitro growth has been hampered by a number of factors including low levels of infectivity as well as delayed life-cycle development and poor synchronicity. In this study we examined factors affecting the timing of contact between excysted sporozoites and target host cells and the subsequent impact of this upon the establishment of infection. We demonstrate that excystation rate impacts upon establishment of infection and that in our standard assay format the majority of sporozoites are not close enough to the cell monolayer when they are released from the oocyst to successfully establish infection. However, this can be easily overcome by centrifugation of oocysts onto the cell monolayer, resulting in approximately 4-fold increases in sporozoite attachment and subsequent infection. We further demonstrate that excystation procedures can be tailored to control excystation rate to match the assay end purpose and that excystation rate can influence data interpretation. Finally, the addition of both a centrifugation and washing step post-sporozoite attachment may be appropriate when considering the design of in vitro culture experiments for developmental analysis and stage-specific gene expression as this appears to increase the synchronicity of early developmental stages.