Involvement of INS15 in the development and pathogenicity of the zoonotic pathogen Cryptosporidium parvum

Cryptosporidium parvum is a common protozoan pathogen responsible for moderate to severe diarrhea in humans and animals. The C. parvum genome contains 22 genes encoding insulinase-like M16 proteases (INS) with diverse structures and sequences, suggesting that members of the protein family may have distinct biological functions in the life cycle of parasites. Here, we investigated the role of INS15 and INS16, two proteases encoded by neighboring genes with high sequence identity, in the growth and development of C. parvum in vivo and in vitro.