Abstract 2026 Evaluating Proteasome Inhibition as a Strategy for the Treatment or Prevention of Microsporidiosis

Microsporidia are a group of eukaryotic, spore-forming, obligate intracellular parasites that can infect nearly all animals, including humans. Infection is transmitted via ingestion of infected drinking water or food, and the dormant spore form of microsporidia can survive outside of a host cell for years under ideal conditions. Severity of infection ranges from asymptomatic carriage to lethality in both immunocompetent and immunocompromised/immunosuppressed individuals – with the latter groups especially vulnerable to infection.