Researchers working with human enterocytes, columnal cells found in the intestine, report that exposure to Blastocystis sp. subtype 7 significantly reduces intestinal permeability, a property common to many intestinal pathogens, and one cause of the symptom of diarrhea. Exposure to Blastocystis sp. subtype 7 also produced a statistically significant increase in programmed cell death in enterocytes. Similar exposure to Blastocystis sp. subype 4 did not produce these effects, suggesting the existence of a strain-dependent effect. For additional information, please refer to the paper from Biomed Research International.