A simple and reliable method of producing in vitro infections of cryptosporidium parvum (apicomplexa)

A variety of techniques have been used to infect cell monolayers in culture with the protozoan, Cryptosporidium parvum. However, most of these methods rely on the use of trypsin and/or bile salts to excyst sporozoites in vitro, followed by washing sporozoites free of excystation solution prior to their addition to subconfluent monolayers. This method not only increases the amount of time required to establish infections in vitro, but also results in prolonged exposure of free sporozoites to environmental conditions. Here we report a simple, fast, and efficient method of obtaining consistent infections of C. parvum in cell monolayers. This technique relies on the ability of the parasite to excyst at 37°C but not at room temperature following pretreatment with sodium hypochlorite. By adding surface-sterilized oocysts directly to monolayers, sporozoites have access to host cells immediately upon excystation.