RESUMO
A new laboratory animal model for experimental cryptosporidiosis is described. Adult immunosuppressed hamsters were infected per os with 0.5 x 10(5) and 1 x 10(5) Cryptosporidium oocysts of calf origin. The mean numbers of oocysts shed per gram of feces per day and the patterns of infection are described. The susceptibility to Cryptosporidium infection, the total number of oocysts shed (a thousand times the infective dose), and the ease of handling in laboratory conditions make hamsters a good animal model for cryptosporidiosis.
Assuntos
Criptosporidiose/etiologia , Animais , Cricetinae , Criptosporidiose/parasitologia , Cryptosporidium/isolamento & purificação , Modelos Animais de Doenças , Fezes/parasitologia , Feminino , Terapia de ImunossupressãoRESUMO
We developed a solid-phase two-site immunoenzymometric assay (IEMA) of the estrogen-induced 52-kDa cathepsin D (EC 3.4.23.5) and its processed forms (48-kDa and 34-kDa proteins) in cytosols of breast cancer tissues, using two monoclonal antibodies directed against two different epitopes of these antigens. The first antibody is bound to a polystyrene microtiter well; the second is labeled with alkaline phosphatase. The assay involves a simultaneous incubation of the antigen with both antibodies, because we observed signal loss during sequential incubations. Alkaline phosphatase was chosen because other enzymes (peroxidase, beta-galactosidase) were inhibited by cytosol extraction buffers. The measurable range of 52-kDa-related proteins is from 0.3 to 6 nmol/L with precision (CVs) within and between runs of 3.9% and 15.8%, respectively. The sensitivity, accuracy, and rapid turnaround time of the two-site IEMA should facilitate the clinical evaluation of this new marker in oncology.