ArticleCell2025
The essential host genome for Cryptosporidium survival exposes metabolic dependencies that can be leveraged for treatment.
Article in Cell, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- High-Content CRISPR Screening: Methods and Applications.MedComm · 2026Review
- Article
- Genomic heterogeneity of NAD(P)H dehydrogenase predisposes Cryptosporidium to clofazimine resistance.Nature microbiology · 2026Article
- The Natural Triterpenoid Alisol B Overcomes Temozolomide Resistance in Glioblastoma Through Multi-Target Mechanisms: Coordinated Epigenetic, Metabolic, and Cell-Cycle Reprogramming.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Article
- Insights into the lifecycle of Cryptosporidium and compounds targeting developmental stages.Current opinion in microbiology · 2026Review
- ATG5 Plays a Role inTransboundary and emerging diseases · 2026Article
- Widespread genomic heterogeneity at the type II NAD(P)H dehydrogenase locus predisposesbioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of diarrheal disease, yet little is known regarding the infection cell biology of this intracellular intestinal parasite. To this end, we implemented an arrayed genome-wide CRISPR-Cas9 knockout screen to microscopically analyze multiple phenotypic features of a Cryptosporidium infection following individual host gene ablation. We discovered parasite survival within the host epithelial cell hinges on squalene, an intermediate metabolite in the host cholesterol biosynthesis pathway. A buildup of squalene within intestinal epithelial cells creates a reducing environment, making more reduced glutathione available for parasite uptake. Remarkably, the Cryptosporidium parasite has lost the ability to synthesize glutathione and has become dependent on this host import. This dependency can be leveraged for treatment with the abandoned drug lapaquistat, an inhibitor of host squalene synthase that shifts the redox environment, blocking Cryptosporidium growth in vitro and in vivo.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.