Efficacy of select antivirals againstCryptosporidium parvumin vitro

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Abstract
Cryptosporidium parvum is an intestinal pathogen associated with diarrheal disease in both humans and animals. Currently, no effective therapy exists to eliminate the parasite in the absence of a healthy, intact immune system. We used an in situ, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) as a primary screen to examine the effects of 13 antivirals on the development of C. parvum in human ileocecal adenocarcinoma (HCT-8) cells in vitro. Six of the compounds displayed some efficacy, and dose-response curves and toxicity assays were generated for each of the six compounds. All six were nucleoside analogs, and five of the six were structurally related. These results suggest one potential strategy for therapeutic intervention of C. parvum may be the use and development of certain types of nucleoside analogs.