Akiyoshi Donna E, Dilo Julia, Pearson Christine, Chapman Susan, Tumwine James, Tzipori Saul
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, 200 Westboro Road, North Grafton, MA 01536, USA.
Infect Immun. 2003 Apr;71(4):1828-32. doi: 10.1128/IAI.71.4.1828-1832.2003.
Cryptosporidium meleagridis, a protozoon first observed in turkeys, has been linked by several investigators to cryptosporidiosis in humans. C. meleagridis is the only known Cryptosporidium species that infects both avian and mammalian species. We describe the successful propagation of C. meleagridis (isolate TU1867), originally purified from a patient with diarrhea, in laboratory animals including chickens, mice, piglets, and calves. TU1867 was readily transmitted from one animal host to another, maintaining genetic homogeneity and stability. The rate of infectivity and virulence of TU1867 for the mammalian species were similar to those of Cryptosporidium parvum. Laboratory propagation of genetically and phenotypically stable and well-characterized reference isolates, representing various Cryptosporidium species, particularly those infectious to humans, will improve considerably the spectrum and quality of laboratory and field investigations on this medically important protozoa.
火鸡隐孢子虫是一种最初在火鸡中发现的原生动物，一些研究人员已将其与人类隐孢子虫病联系起来。火鸡隐孢子虫是唯一已知的可感染禽类和哺乳动物的隐孢子虫物种。我们描述了最初从一名腹泻患者身上纯化得到的火鸡隐孢子虫（分离株TU1867）在包括鸡、小鼠、仔猪和犊牛在内的实验动物中的成功繁殖。TU1867很容易从一个动物宿主传播到另一个动物宿主，保持了基因同质性和稳定性。TU1867对哺乳动物物种的感染率和毒力与微小隐孢子虫相似。对代表各种隐孢子虫物种，特别是那些对人类有传染性的隐孢子虫物种进行遗传和表型稳定且特征明确的参考分离株的实验室繁殖，将大大提高对这种具有医学重要性的原生动物的实验室和现场调查的范围和质量。
