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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Parasitology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1454855
This article is part of the Research Topic Advancing Strategies to Combat Protozoan Diseases: From Drug Resistance to Innovative Treatments View all articles

Besnoitia besnoiti tachyzoite replication in bovine primary endothelial cells relies on host NPC1 for cholesterol acquisition

Provisionally accepted
Camilo Larrazabal Camilo Larrazabal 1,2*Carlos R. Hermosilla Carlos R. Hermosilla 2Anja Taubert Anja Taubert 2Liliana M. Silva Liliana M. Silva 2,3,4
  • 1 Facultad de Recursos Naturales, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Temuco, Chile
  • 2 Institute of Parasitology, Biomedical Research Center Seltersberg, Justus Liebig University Giessen, Giessen, Germany
  • 3 Egas Moniz Center for Interdisciplinary Research (CiiEM), Almada, Portugal
  • 4 Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development, University of Evora, Évora, Portugal

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Besnoitia besnoiti is a cyst-forming apicomplexan parasite and the causal agent of bovine besnoitiosis. During early phase of infection, tachyzoites replicate within host endothelial cells in a host cell cholesterol-dependent process. By applying U18666A treatments, we here evaluated the role of Niemann-Pick type C protein 1 (NPC1) in both, intracellular B. besnoiti replication and host cellular cholesterol distribution. Additionally, B. besnoiti-driven changes in NPC1 gene transcription were studied by qPCR. Overall, U18666A treatments significantly reduced B. besnoiti proliferation and induced cholesterol accumulation in host cytoplasmic dense vesicles. However, NPC1 gene transcription was not affected by B. besnoiti infection.

    Keywords: Besnoitia besnoiti, Niemann-Pick type C protein, NPC1, U18666A, Cholesterol

    Received: 25 Jun 2024; Accepted: 26 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Larrazabal, Hermosilla, Taubert and Silva. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Camilo Larrazabal, Facultad de Recursos Naturales, Universidad Católica de Temuco, Temuco, Chile

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.