Fig. 5: Involvement of SKSR1 in the virulence of Cryptosporidium parvum. | Nature Communications

Fig. 5: Involvement of SKSR1 in the virulence of Cryptosporidium parvum.

From: SKSR1 identified as key virulence factor in Cryptosporidium by genetic crossing

Fig. 5

a Growth pattern of SKSR1-3HA, SKSR1m(+A)-3HA, and Δsksr1 lines in HCT-8 cultures. The Δsksr1 and SKSR1m(+A)-3HA lines had significantly slower growth at 24 h and 48 h post infection (dots represent data from a total of six replicates in three independent experiments, and each bar represents the mean ± SD). b Oocyst shedding pattern of Δsksr1, SKSR1−3HA, and SKSR1m(+A)-3HA lines in GKO mice. Dots represent data from three independent experiments with a total of 15 mice per group, and each bar represents the mean ± SD. c Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) microscopic images. Scale bar = 100 μm. d Parasite load per villus on the ileal surface under H&E microscopy. e Villus length and crypt depth ratio of the ileum of uninfected and infected mice. Data in (d and e) are the mean ± SD from two independent experiments (n = 15 villi per mouse), and different color shades represent two independent experiments. f Differences in clinical score (left) and the area under the curve (AUC) (right) (mean ± SD) between groups. At 14 days post infection, in three independent experiments, six mice in the SKSR1−3HA-infected group were moribund, which we defined as animals with the worst clinical signs. g Body weight gain and AUC (mean ± SD) during the course of infection with different lines. Dead mice were not included in the AUC statistics for body weight gain. Statistical analysis in (a–g) was performed using the Kruskal–Wallis test. h Survival curves of infected mice. The time of death of mice in the SKSR1-3HA group was significantly different from that in the Δsksr1 and SKSR1m(+A)−3HA groups by the Gehan-Breslow-Wilcoxon test (two-tailed). Data in (b and f–h) are from three independent infection studies with five mice per group in each experiment, the different dots represent data from three independent experiments. One mouse in the SKSR1m(+A)-3HA group died of a non-infection-related cause during the first infection study and its data were not included in subsequent analyses. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.

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