{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,29]],"date-time":"2026-10-29T01:17:06Z","timestamp":1793236626726,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":29,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,12]],"date-time":"2026-06-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1781222400000},"content-version":"am","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"funder":[{"name":"Internal Medicine Research Seed"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100008013","name":"University of Texas Medical Branch","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UTMB, FY24"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UTMB, FY24"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100008013","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"a fellowship from Contex"},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100007130","name":"University of Texas System","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100007130","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003141","name":"CONACYT","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003141","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cryptosporidiosis, caused by the parasite Cryptosporidium, is a leading cause of severe diarrhea, morbidity, and mortality in immunocompromised patients and malnourished children. Because the only Food and Drug Administration\u2013approved treatment, nitazoxanide, shows limited efficacy in these two populations, novel therapeutics for vulnerable populations are urgently needed. Host-directed therapy (HDT) is a strategy that utilizes the induction of endogenous protective molecules. Previous work has demonstrated that human Defensin 1 (DEFB1) possesses anticryptosporidial activity. In this work, we used synthetic DEFB1-mRNA to induce DEFB1 protein in human intestinal cells and evaluate its protection against Cryptosporidium parvum infection in vitro.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>HCT-8 cells were transfected with synthetic DEFB1-mRNA or scrambled-mRNAs complexed with Lipofectamine. Transfection efficiency was assessed using an mRNA reporter gene. Twenty-four hours posttransfection, cells were challenged with excysted C. parvum sporozoites. DEFB1 induction was quantified by serology, while parasite burden and cell viability were assessed via microscopy, RT-qPCR, and viability assays.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Our results show that transfecting HCT-8 cells with DEFB1-mRNA results in a 2-fold increase in DEFB1 protein expression. This induction protects cells from C. parvum infection, achieving an 80% reduction in parasite burden with no cytotoxicity.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>These findings highlight the potential of mRNA technology for developing HDTs against cryptosporidiosis and other enteric pathogens.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1093\/infdis\/jiag302","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,11]],"date-time":"2026-06-11T11:46:14Z","timestamp":1781178374000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Induction of \u03b2-Defensin 1 via Synthetic mRNA Reduces\n                    <i>Cryptosporidium parvum<\/i>\n                    Infection in Human Intestinal Cells"],"prefix":"10.1093","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-4642-8914","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Justine","family":"Ortega-Mendez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, Texas ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, Texas ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jose M","family":"Rojas","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, Texas ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9668-4632","authenticated-orcid":false,"suffix":"Jr","given":"Arthur Clinton","family":"White","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, Texas ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Center for Tropical Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, Texas ,","place":["USA"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9092-153X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alejandro","family":"Castellanos-Gonzalez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, Texas ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, Texas ,","place":["USA"]},{"name":"Center for Tropical Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch , Galveston, Texas 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