Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology Commons^™

Waste Streams From Next Generation Molten Salt Reactors: The Challenge Of Creating An Insoluble Ceramic For Chloride Salt Waste, Alevtina A. Maksimova, Jake W. Amoroso, Matthew Page, Gregory Morrison, Hans Conrad Zur Loye

Faculty Publications

Molten salt reactors (MSRs) design development is of interest to many research groups and companies. Waste management for MSRs is one of the most important issues that needs to be resolved due to its impact on environmental safety, primarily via the dissolution of radionuclides in water. Furthermore, the waste treatment strategy will have a significant influence on the operating cost of MSRs, which is why a reliable process for the immobilization, transportation, storage and disposal of MSR waste must be addressed. This work presents a new approach for the immobilization of chloride salts from molten salt reactors in stable oxyhalide …

Characterization Of Mettl3/14-Mediated M6a Modification In Human Transcriptome Using Nanopore Direct Rna Sequencing, Emily Kurtyan, Andrew J. Stein, Kelly J. Abdalla, Zhangerjiao Yuan, Miten Jain, Fadia Ibrahim

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Post-transcriptional RNA modifications modulate diverse aspects of RNA metabolism. N6-methyladenosine (m6A), one of the most abundant internal RNA modifications, is deposited by the core methyltransferase complex, METTL3 and METTL14. Oxford Nanopore Technologies (ONT) platform permits direct, single RNA molecule sequencing while preserving native modifications. However, without rigorous benchmarking, the accuracy and reproducibility of modification detection remain uncertain. Here, we leveraged ONT to comprehensively profile bona fide m6A modifications in cellular RNAs at single-nucleotide resolution by integrating two direct RNA sequencing chemistries (RNA002 and RNA004) with the m6Anet and Dorado modification-detection models. We independently depleted METTL3 and METTL14 in human cells …

Instruction Guide, Mark C. Hall

Analytical Biochemistry: A Practical Handbook for Undergraduates

The instruction guide provides useful information for setting up and running the lab activities each week and assessing student preparation, performance, and comprehension.

A Comprehensive In-Silico Pipeline For The Discovery Of Non-Toxic, Stable Antimicrobial Peptides From Databases For Targeting Multi-Drug Resistant K. Pneumoniae, Pranab D. Sharma, Abdullah A. Noman, Al Hafiz

Faculty Articles

The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae has significantly reduced the effectiveness of conventional antibiotics, highlighting the need for alternative therapeutic strategies. This study employed a comprehensive in silico pipeline to identify antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) targeting the essential DNA replication initiator protein DnaA. A total of 28,361 peptide sequences were collected from publicly available AMP databases and sequentially filtered based on peptide length, net charge, GRAVY score, instability index, antimicrobial activity, toxicity, hemolytic potential, aggregation propensity, sequence similarity and favorable amphipathic properties. Four peptides satisfied all selection criteria and were subjected to structural prediction, membrane-binding analysis, protein–DNA docking, protein–peptide docking, …

Crystal Structure Of New Polar Rare Earth Borates Na2.62Ln2.12(Bo3)3 (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm) Containing Isolated Bo3 Groups, Alevtina A. Maksimova, Mark D. Smith, Hans Conrad Zur Loye

Faculty Publications

Three new rare earth borates, Na2.62Ln2.12(BO3)3 (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm), were synthesized via a high-temperature solution reaction using a BaCO3–H3BO3–NaF flux and structurally characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. The compounds crystallize in the orthorhombic space group Amm2 with lattice parameters a = 5.0985(10) Å, b = 11.180(2) Å, c = 7.1483(14) Å, and a unit cell volume of 407.48(14) ų (Z = 2) for Na2.62Pr2.12(BO3)3, a = 5.0983(10) Å, b = 11.181(2) Å, c = 7.1491(14) Å, and a unit cell volume of 407.51(14) ų (Z = 2) for Na2.62Nd2.12(BO3)3, and a = 5.08630(10) Å, b …

Single Crystal Growth Of The Orthoborate Nabalu(Bo3)2 And Optical Investigation Of Eu3+ And Tb3+ Doped Nabalu(Bo3)2, Alevtina A. Maksimova, Mark D. Smith, Lakshani W. Masachchi, Hans Conrad Zur Loye

Faculty Publications

Sodium barium lutetium borate NaBaLu(BO₃)₂ crystals were synthesized using a high-temperature solution method. The crystal structure of this layered orthoborate is described and corresponds to that of an extensive orthoborates family, NaBaR(BO₃)₂ (R = Sc, Y, Yb, Tb – Lu). NaBaLu(BO₃)₂ was doped by Eu³⁺ and Tb³⁺ to explore its performance as a host material and to investigate the luminescent properties of the Eu³⁺ and Tb³⁺ doped materials. The emission spectra of the NaBaLu(BO₃)₂:Ln (Ln = Eu, Tb) crystals are presented. The most …

Bridging The Gap In Science Research: Preparing Students For College- Level Research In The Sciences, Victoria Helwig, Yaoguang Li

UConn Library Presentations

Many first-year students enter college unprepared to fully engage with scientific literature and academic library resources. Drawing on experiences from academic librarians working with STEM students, this session explores common gaps in science research skills, including navigating databases, identifying scholarly sources, and understanding the structure of scientific literature. Participants will be introduced to practical strategies and classroom-ready activities to better prepare students for college-level research. Discussion questions: What science research skills do students struggle with most when entering college? How can high school instruction better support these skills? Where can librarians and educators collaborate to support student success?

Analysis Of The Atypical Temperature Dependence And Conformational Changes During Turnover Of A Lactobacillus Chlorogenic Acid Esterase, Nathaniel Carl, Yianni Tsigaris, Dan Ji, Nora K. Anpree, Kellie K. Omori, Cedric P. Owens

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Many bacterial chlorogenic acid esterases (ChlEs) exhibit atypical temperature behavior, featuring activities that barely change with temperature and activity maxima that fall below the thermal denaturation point. This work focuses on a ChlE from Lactobacillus helveticus (Lh–ChlE), which has a flat temperature dependence. First, it was determined that conformational changes during Lh–ChlE turnover are not rate-limiting and that the overall rate depends on the chemical step at all temperatures. Next, Lh–ChlE’s temperature dependence was investigated using a conformational equilibrium model that assumes the existence of a temperature-dependent equilibrium between an active and an inactive conformation and an activation heat capacity …

Summer Research Internships In Agricultural Biotechnology For Off-Campus Undergraduate Students, Aaron J. Thomas

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Mechanistic Determination Of Host Environmental Impacts On Shigella Virulence, Nicholas E. Dickenson

Funded Research Records

No abstract provided.

Decoding The Allosteric Grammar Of Protein Kinases: A Dual-Stream Framework Integrating Protein Language Models And Energy Landscape Frustration Analysis, Will Gatlin, Max Ludwick, Lucas Turano, Brandon Foley, Kamila Riedlova, Vít Škrhák, Marian Novotný, David Hoksza, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

The spatial and energetic encoding of allosteric regulatory sites remains a major challenge in structural biology, frequently representing a “blind spot” for sequence-based artificial intelligence (AI) models. We present a protein language model (PLM)-guided approach complemented by the energy landscape frustration analysis as a dual-stream framework to investigate the relationship between AI prediction of binding sites and biophysical organization of regulatory pockets across the human kinome. By probing a fine-tuned residue-level PLM classifier across 453 kinase structures, a clear performance gap is discovered between highly predictable orthosteric pockets (Types I, I.5, and II) and poorly resolved distal allosteric sites (Type …

Upar-Guided Dendrimer Gel Nanoparticles Reprogram Inflammation To Stabilize Atherosclerotic Plaques, Hsin Yin Chuang, Huari Kou, Yue-Wern Huang, Hu Yang

Biological Sciences Faculty Research & Creative Works

Atherosclerosis is characterized by lipid deposition, chronic inflammation, and apoptosis within the arterial wall, leading to plaque progression and instability. Current lipid-lowering therapies fail to fully address residual cardiovascular risk driven by local inflammation and cell death. Here, we report the development of uPA-functionalized, rapamycin-encapsulated dendrimer nanoparticles (G5PM-uPA/RA) that preferentially accumulate in urokinase plasminogen activator receptor (uPAR)-enriched atherosclerotic plaque, including macrophage- and apoptosis-rich lesion microenvironments. G5PM-uPA/RA was constructed by cross-linking reaction-enabled flash nanoprecipitation in a custom-made multi-inlet vortex mixer, followed by thiol-maleimide conjugation of uPA for uPAR-guided targeting. The nanoparticles demonstrated uniform morphology, favorable stability, and efficient rapamycin loading. In …

Biophysical Insights Into A Cryptic Ligand Site In The Hydrophobic Core Of Human Pcna, Alexis N. Dispensa, Sharon N, Greenwood, Jason Yang, Daniel E. Logatto, James Fusco, E. Railey White, Roderic G. Eckenhoff, Zhiwei Liu, Brian P. Weiser

Department of Anesthesiology Faculty Papers

Proteins contain small pockets that form due to imperfections in residue packing or the rotational and conformational movement of amino acids. In this work, we used the fluorescent probe 1-aminoanthracene (AMA) to detect a small ligand pocket in the hydrophobic core of human proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), which is a critical protein for DNA replication and repair. Fluorescence measurements of AMA reported that the core of PCNA had a dielectric constant (ε) of 4, which was very apolar and similar to cyclohexane (ε = 2). Protein mutagenesis, photoaffinity labeling, and molecular dynamics simulations localized the binding site for AMA …

Investigation Into Molecular Bases Of Pregnancy-Associated Malaria, Nicole Pozo

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Plasmodium falciparum causes the most severe and deadly form of malaria and remains a major global health problem, especially in sub-Saharan Africa (Milner, 2018). The parasite infects and multiplies inside red blood cells, leading to fever, anemia, organ damage, and death if untreated (Milner, 2018; Song et al., 2022). It is especially dangerous because it avoids the immune system by changing surface proteins called Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1), which are encoded by more than 60 var genes. By switching between these genes, the parasite hides from immune detection and creates repeated waves of infection (Deitsch & Dzikowski, …

Personalizable Metabolic Models To Enable Immune Characterization And Drug Discovery, Joshua Loecker

Department of Biochemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Cellular metabolism is reshaped by disease and physiological state, and genome-scale metabolic networks (GSMNs) offer a systematic way to interrogate this biology and identify therapeutic targets. Building a GSMN from expression data, however, requires a sequence of stages including read processing, normalization and gene-activity classification, multi-omic integration, model reconstruction, simulation, and biological interpretation. These are typically handled by disconnected tools spanning multiple programming languages, file formats, and databases. The resulting reliance on heterogeneous interfaces and manual steps threatens reproducibility. This work develops an ecosystem of computational tools that carry an analysis from raw sequencing reads to mechanistic biological interpretation. First, …

Rna G-Quadruplexes Function As A Tunable Switch Of Fus Phase Separation, Jenny L. Carey, Miyuki Hayashi, Emily A. Welebob, Laura R. Ganser, Huan Wang, Kerry Buckhaults, Jacquelyn A. Depierro, Zheng Shi, James Shorter, Sua Myong, Aaron R. Haeusler, Lin Guo

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Fused in sarcoma (FUS) undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) to support essential cellular functions, but aberrant phase transitions promote toxic aggregation in neurodegenerative disease. Short RNA oligonucleotides can reverse this behavior, yet the structural determinants that govern RNA activity remain poorly defined. Here, we identify RNA G-quadruplexes (rG4s) as tunable structural motifs that potently modulate FUS LLPS. rG4 activity depends on its concentration and is modulated by rG4 length and stability: increasing repeat number switches rG4s from inhibitor to nucleator of FUS assembly, whereas chemical modifications that stabilize rG4 enhance inhibitory function and render these activities resilient to ionic perturbation. …

Main-Chain Ion-Pair Polybenzimidazole Membranes Enabling Reduced-Temperature Ht-Pemfc Operation (Down To 120°C), Brian C. Benicewicz, Huina Lin

Faculty Publications

Proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells are promising for clean and efficient energy conversion across diverse applications. High-temperature PEM fuel cells (HT-PEMFCs) using phosphoric acid (PA)-doped polybenzimidazole (PBI) can operate up to 200°C, but at lower temperatures, water-induced PA loss often leads to performance degradation and reduced durability. In this work, we present a new class of main-chain ion-pair PBI membranes by integrating the imidazolium-biphosphate ion-pair units directly into the PBI backbone. This design results in membranes with high acid content, stronger acid-polymer interactions and stabilized acid retention. In single-cell tests, the Im+-PBI15-3 wt.% exhibits peak power densities of 0.79 …

Structure-Based Discovery Of Malate Dehydrogenase Inhibitors With Efficacy Against C. Parvum Oocysts, Ankita Bharatbhai Kheni

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Cryptosporidium parvum, the etiological agent of Cryptosporidiosis (diarrheal illness) represents a significant global health burden, particularly affecting immunodeficient and pediatric populations. Since the parasite has a highly reduced mitochondrion and relies on glycolysis, enzymes such as C. parvum malate dehydrogenase (CpMDH), which are believed to be indispensable for parasite viability due to their pivotal roles in NAD⁺ regeneration and redox balance, remain largely unexplored as therapeutic targets. The present study employed a multifaceted experimental and computational strategy to evaluate the inhibitory activity of two lead-like and drug-like small molecules, referred to as compound 1.8 and compound 1.5, against the cofactor …

High Mobility Group Motif Proteins’ Role In Fibrosis, Inflammation, And Vascular Injury In Systemic Sclerosis, Fabian A. Mendoza, Sonsoles Piera-Velazquez, Sergio A. Jimenez

Jefferson Institute of Molecular Medicine Papers and Presentations

Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is an idiopathic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by progressive cutaneous and systemic fibrosis, severe vasculopathy, and multiple humoral and cellular immunological alterations. The pathogenesis of SSc is highly complex and remains incompletely elucidated. The fibrotic process is a crucial component of SSc and is responsible for organ failure and high mortality. Although an increasing understanding of the fibrotic process has enabled the clinical development of antifibrotic therapeutic agents, these agents have limited clinical efficacy. Recently, the potential role of a group of transcription factors containing a High Mobility Group (HMG) motif, in the development and pathological manifestations …

Chromatin Insulators Homie And Nhomie Can Interact With Distant Copies Either Together Or Separately, With Distinct Outcomes For Enhancer-Promoter Interactions, Miki Fujioka, Wenfan Ke, Paul Schedl, James B. Jaynes

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Chromatin insulators, a.k.a. boundary elements, separate regions of the chromosome with distinct chromatin characteristics, including distinct histone modifications. This activity affects gene expression by allowing chromatin domains to be stably regulated and maintained. Insulators also block enhancer-promoter interactions and, somewhat paradoxically, facilitate other interactions, particularly when they stitch together distant regions of the chromosome by pairing with specific partners. Here we explore how long-range interactions facilitated by insulator pairing are affected by the presence of two potentially competing partners. Our results show that when two partners are present, they can reduce each other's effects on distant gene expression, suggesting that …

Hydroxamate Formation In The Lipopeptide Containing Siderophore Taiwachelin, Aaron J. Gringer, Kernen P. Agwaza, Isabel Da Fonseca, Pablo Sobrado

Chemistry Faculty Research & Creative Works

Cupriavidus taiwanensis is a nitrogen-fixing bacterium found in root nodules of the invasive tropical weed Mimosa pudica . C. taiwanensis has been shown to grow in environments contaminated with heavy metals such as Pb, Cu, and Cd. Taiwachelin, a recently identified siderophore produced by C. taiwanensis , is an iron chelator that contains a hydroxamate functional group for metal binding. In its biosynthesis, a flavin-dependent N-monooxygenase (NMO) was predicted to hydroxylate l -ornithine, leading to formation of the metal binding hydroxamate moiety. Here, we report the cloning, expression, and biochemical characterization of this enzyme, herein referred to as CtNMO. CtNMO …

Detection And Evaluation Of Hazardous Mercury Contamination In Various Biological Samples, Krish Italiya

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Mercury is a toxic environmental pollutant that threatens ecosystems and human health. This study investigates mercury contamination in Lactuca sativa (lettuce) and selected fish species, including tuna and salmon, focusing on plant responses and the limitations of X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. In a controlled experiment, lettuce plants were exposed to mercury to evaluate uptake and toxicity, and XRF spectroscopy was used for quick, non-destructive elemental analysis. Results confirmed mercury accumulation in lettuce, along with visible stress symptoms such as leaf yellowing, purple pigmentation, and tissue damage. Mercury was not detected in tuna and salmon samples, likely due to concentrations below …

Structure Of Ergosteryl-Aspartate Synthase Reveals How An Entrapped Trna Is Used Like A Prosthetic Swinging Arm In The Synthesis Of Aminoacylated Sterols, Hanako Murayama, Nathaniel Yakobov, Nassira Mahmoudi, Sasha Legrosdidier, Nicolas Fournier, Solène Zuttion, Kanata Matsumoto, Michihiro Nishimura, Jingwei Ji, Bruno Senger, Laurence Huck, Howard Gamper, Yoshiaki Kise, Ralph Kleiner, Mathieu Frechin, Ya-Ming Hou, Hubert Becker, Yuzuru Itoh, Frédéric Fischer, Osamu Nureki

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Ergosteryl-3β-O-L-aspartate synthase (ErdS) catalyzes tRNA-dependent aspartylation of ergosterol, a lipid essential for fungal cell membrane integrity. However, the functional significance of ergosteryl-aspartate and the molecular mechanisms underlying its synthesis remain unclear. Here, we show that ErdS localization is highly dynamic and that Erg-Asp is required for proper hyphal growth, sporulation, and spore germination, and likely influences stress tolerance. The cryo-electron microscopy structure of ErdS revealed an unprecedented sterol-binding pocket. In addition, the structures in complex with a non-hydrolyzable Asp-N-tRNAAsp show a tRNA-guided intramolecular aminoacyl transfer mechanism between two functional domains of the enzyme. The CCA end of tRNAAsp undergoes a …

Crystal Structure Of Mouse Dxo In Complex With The Udp-N-Acetylglucosamine Cap And Molecular Mechanism For The Decapping Reactions, Najeeb Ullah, Selom K. Doamekpor, Liang Tong

Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Faculty Papers

Noncanonical metabolite 5' caps have recently been identified on RNAs, and the DXO/Rai1 family of enzymes can remove these caps in eukaryotes. While the binding modes of NAD, FAD and dephospho-CoA (dpCoA) caps in the active site of mouse DXO have been determined, how DXO recognizes the UDP-glucose (UDP-Glc) and UDP-N-acetylglucosamine (UDP-GlcNAc) caps is not known. In addition, the molecular mechanism by which DXO catalyzes the decapping reactions is still poorly understood, especially the location of the water/hydroxide that attacks the scissile phosphate to initiate the decapping. Here we report the crystal structure of mouse DXO in complex with UDP-GlcNAc …

The Effects Of Cinnamaldehyde On Tetrahymena Thermophila, Sydney Kurland

Publications and Research

In addition to their common use as spices in cooking and baking, cinnamon plants, Cinnamomum zeylanicum and Cinnamomum cassia for example, have long been used in herbal remedies worldwide. Cinnamon contains many vital oils and active compounds including cinnamaldehyde (CMD). Numerous studies looking at potential therapeutic effects of cinnamon have demonstrated its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties (1, 2, 3).   Therefore, it is important to continue studying the efficacy, benefits, and mechanisms of action of cinnamon and CMD to have a complete understanding of its full potential. Tetrahymena thermophila is a ciliated protozoan commonly used as a model organism to …

Predicting And Decoding Allosteric Binding Sites Using Protein Language Models And Structure-Based Machine Learning: An Energy Landscape-Guided Explainable Ai Framework, Kamila Riedlová, Vít Skrhák, William G. Gatlin, Max Ludwick, Lucas Turano, Marian Novotný, David Hoksza, Gennady M. Verkhivker

Mathematics, Physics, and Computer Science Faculty Articles and Research

Computational prediction of allosteric binding sites in protein structures remains a persistent challenge, as these regulatory pockets evade detection by both sequence-based and structure-based algorithms. Both computational and physical origins of this predictive asymmetry remain insufficiently understood. In this study, we systematically examine the determinants of binding site predictability using a dual framework that integrates a fine-tuned protein language model and the structure-based method P2Rank as complementary tools probing a diverse data set of 453 human kinases, together with a physics-based interpretability layer derived from energy landscape frustration analysis. Both predictors exhibit a sharp and reproducible dichotomy on protein kinases, …

Bioinformatic Resolution Of Candidate Stress-Response Homologs In Cryptosporidium Parvum: P53-Family Vs Sestrin Identity, Freeman Tobechukwu Ezeala Mr.

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Cryptosporidium parvum is an apicomplexan protozoan of major public-health importance, but accurate genome annotation in this organism remains difficult because of its compact genome, deep protein divergence, and the presence of compositionally biased or low-complexity regions that can mislead similarity-based analysis.

In this thesis, I examined one such annotation problem involving a conserved Cryptosporidium stress-response candidate protein, CPATCC_0028580_t1 (833 aa). The central question was whether this protein is better interpreted as a member of the p53 family, based on similarity to p53-like DNA-binding domains (PF00870), or as a member of the Sestrin family associated with the PA26 domain.

I explored …

Sequence Determinants Of Rna G-Quadruplex Unfolding By Arg-Rich Regions, Naiduwadura Ivon Upekala De Silva, Puspa Kunwar, Md Ibnul Rifat Rahman, Joanna Koryo Kwao, Nathan Lehman, Zihan Zhang, Trenton Paul, Claire Cheng, Nicholas Truex, Hui-Ting Lee, Jun Zhang

Faculty Publications

RNA sequences with the potential to form G-quadruplexes (rGQs) are widespread but largely unfolded in cells by unknown mechanisms. rGQ folding status is a critical regulator of RNA splicing and translation. We show that rGQs can be unfolded by SR proteins, SR-related proteins, and other Arg-rich proteins, including SRSF1, SRSF3, SRSF9, U1-70K, and U2AF1. The length and composition of Arg-rich regions are key determinants of this activity: Arg residues are the primary drivers, while acidic residues attenuate the unfolding activity. To unfold ARPC2 rGQ, at least 13 Arg residues are required. Our findings identify Arg-rich proteins as previously unrecognized, helicase-independent …

Evaluation Of Flt3 Inhibition With Quizartinib During Busulfan Conditioning For Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation, Catherine Jankovic

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is one of the only curative therapy options for many hematologic malignancies. HSCT relies on effective conditioning regimens to deplete host hematopoietic cells and enable donor engraftment. The alkylating agent Busulfan is widely used in myeloablative conditioning strategies due to its potent cytotoxic effects on hematopoietic cells and ability to clear the bone marrow. However, optimization of conditioning strategies remains an important area of investigation to improve transplant outcomes and reduce toxicity. Preliminary studies have shown that the FLT3 inhibitor Quizartinib synergizes with some chemotherapeutic agents, suggesting that targeted inhibitors may enhance conventional conditioning regimens. …

Understanding Tlr3 Immune Response Activation In Cryptosporidium Parvum And Cryspovirus Pathogenesis, Surayya Hudayberganova

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Cryptosporidiosis is a serious gastrointestinal illness caused by a protozoan parasite known as Cryptosporidium. It is particularly dangerous for malnourished children and those with compromised immune systems. My research focuses on the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) response to the Cryptosporidium parvum infection, specifically in the presence of the parasite’s viral mutualist named cryspovirus (CSpV1). Results using research methodologies like ELISA and RT-qPCR have indicated that TLR3 expression increases during the infection process of Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum). Furthermore, one intriguing observation concluded during this study suggests that administering the TLR3-specific inhibitor CU-CPT4a to infected cells drastically decreased this activation. This …