Parasit Vectors. 2025 Jul 12;18(1):281. doi: 10.1186/s13071-025-06926-5.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The two intestinal protozoan parasites Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium parvum cause infections in a wide spectrum of vertebrates and have also been shown to infect suitable hosts simultaneously. To investigate potential effects between these parasites and on host cells, a co-infection model with IPEC-J2 cells was established.
METHODS: Optimal infection conditions and several infection doses of both parasites were tested. The effect of Giardia growth medium on IPEC-J2 cells was analyzed using 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) reduction assay, while the effect of different infection doses of each parasite on host cell viability was investigated by CellTiter Blue cell viability assay. For co-infection, IPEC-J2 cells were first infected with C. parvum sporozoites, and 3.5 h later, G. duodenalis trophozoites were added. Parasite propagation during single infection and co-infection were analyzed by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) as well as immunofluorescent staining.
RESULTS: The infection with C. parvum sporozoites had no significant impact on cell viability, while G. duodenalis trophozoites affected cell culture in a dose dependent manner. The amount of gene copies of C. parvum in single and co-infected cells did not differ significantly, while statistically higher amounts of G. duodenalis gene copies in co-infected cell cultures were identified.
CONCLUSIONS: In this study, single infections and co-infections of IPEC-J2 cells with C. parvum and G. duodenalis were established and optimized over a period of 72 h.
PMID:40652254 | DOI:10.1186/s13071-025-06926-5
