ORCID
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9777-2442
Date of Award
Spring 5-15-2020
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Type
Dissertation
Abstract
Cryptosporidium is a genus of protozoan parasites that causes diarrheal disease in humans and other animals. There are two major species that cause disease in humans: C. parvum, which infects both humans and animals, and C. hominis, which primarily infects humans. A recent study investigating the etiologies of pediatric diarrheal illness in Africa and South Asia found that Cryptosporidium is the 2nd most prevalent cause of diarrhea in infants and may be a contributing factor to chronic malnutrition. This discovery has led to renewed interest in studying this parasite and a reexamination of the barriers to studying Cryptosporidium. The main obstacle hindering research on this parasite is that it cannot be propagated in vitro and instead must be passaged through large animals such as calves to generate infectious oocysts. The cell culture models that are available rely on adenocarcinoma cells and only support a few days of growth and do not enable complete life cycle development in vitro. These limitations have stalled the development of research tools for investigating Cryptosporidium biology and have also slowed developmental progress of new therapies.
Language
English (en)
Chair and Committee
Laurence D. Sibley
Committee Members
Megan Baldridge, Daniel Goldberg, Audrey Odom John, Thaddeus Stappenbeck,
Recommended Citation
Wilke, Georgia, "Development of an in vitro Culture System for Cryptosporidium parvum" (2020). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2254.
https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/2254
Included in
Biology Commons, Microbiology Commons, Molecular Biology Commons