Keenan M. O’Dea

Abstract The parasite Cryptosporidium is a leading cause of life-threatening diarrhoeal disease, and effective treatment is not available. Clofazimine, an antimicrobial used for treatment of leprosy and tuberculosis, was found to have potent anti-Cryptosporidium activity but it failed in a human trial. This was attributed to poor bioavailability. Here we observed differential clofazimine susceptibility among C.

Editor’s summary Lipid nanoparticle (LNP) mRNA vaccines induce robust immune responses and provide protection against infectious diseases. However, this immunity can be short-lived, resulting in the need for frequent booster vaccinations. Aunins et al. investigate how adjuvanting LNP-mRNA vaccines with mRNA encoding the cytokine interleukin-12 (IL-12) influences CD8 T cell responses in mice. Il12 mRNA-LNPs (LNP–IL-12) enhanced antigen-specific CD8 T cell responses and augmented CD8 T cell memory.

Cryptosporidium is an enteric pathogen and a prominent cause of diarrheal disease worldwide. Control of Cryptosporidium requires CD4+ T cells, but how protective CD4+ T cell responses are generated is poorly understood. Here, Cryptosporidium parasites that express MHCII-restricted model antigens were generated to understand the basis for CD4+ T cell priming and effector function.