Compounds attack <i>Cryptosporidium</i> parasites

Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis are a pair of parasites that infect the small intestine and cause diarrhea in humans. Researchers have identified two new compounds that reduce the number of C. parvum parasites in mice and calves ( Sci. Transl. Med. 2024, DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adm8631 ). The team originally identified a series of compounds that work against Plasmodium falciparum , the predominant malaria-causing parasite in people. Those compounds targeted lysyl-tRNA synthetase, an enzyme that helps P. falciparum produce proteins. Researchers discovered that one of the compounds also inhibited the lysyl-tRNA synthetase of C. parvum parasites, but they deemed the compound’s toxicity in mice unsuitable . The scientists then designed C. parvum lysyl-tRNA synthetase–targeting compounds with partially restricted absorption across the gastrointestinal tract. They predicted that such compounds could be more effective against Cryptosporidium parasites and less toxic. The team identified two lead compounds that reduced the number of parasites in