Novel Therapy for Cryptosporidium Parvum Diarrhea

Cryptosporidium parvum is a major cause of diarrhea disease among immunocompromised AIDS patients wlimited treatment options. The overall goal of the present proposal is to develop therapeutic plantiassociated diarrhea diseases. This approach will provide a novel and inexpensive means to prevent anCryptosporidium parvum diarrhea. Previous work demonstrates that anti- Cryptosporidium antibodies gieffectively reduced diarrhea and shedding of oocysts in AIDS patients. Plantibodies offer an inexpencolostrum. Degenerate PCR primers will be used to clone and sequence the heavy and light chain variafrom a neutralizing murine monoclonal antibody to Cryptosporidium parvum. This antibody administeredpreviously was shown to block infection in mice infected with Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts. The anexpressed as in an IgA expression vector and tested in alfalfa protoplasts prior to transfer to tranapproach will provide a novel and inexpensive means to make and deliver antibodies to prevent or trehuman pathogen.