Role of tumor necrosis factor alpha in development of immunity against Cryptosporidium parvum infection.

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) significantly reduced Cryptosporidium parvum development in a murine enterocyte cell line, and a key mechanism of action appeared to be inhibition of parasite invasion. However, TNF-alpha-deficient mice controlled infection as effectively as wild-type mice. This suggests that TNF-alpha might have only a redundant role for establishing immunity against C. parvum.