Effects of hydrogen peroxide on in vitro infection of Cryptosporidium parvum

The effect of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) on Cryptosporidium parvum infection and the protective function of free radical scavengers were studied in cultured bovine fallopian tubes epithelial cells. H2O2 treatment at 500 μmol/L and 1 mmol/L significantly inhibited excystation of bleach-treated oocysts (p ＜ 0. O1 ). At 48 h postinoculation,H2O2 at 500 and 750 μmol/L resulted in a significant (p ＜ 0.01) decrease of C. parvum infection by 35.77% and 58.16% respectively in the cultured cells, when compared with the untreated control. Surprisingly, the infection was significantly increased from 22.21% to 39.33 % ( p ＜ 0.05) with lower concentration of H2 O2 (50 ～ 200 μmol/L). The inhibitory and stimulatory effects of H2O2 treatment on C. parvum infection were, to a certain extent, abolished in the presence of reduced glutathione or mannitol. These observations indicate that reactive oxygen species, such as H2O2, may play an important role in C. parvum infection.