Current Research on Free‐living Amebae Causing Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis

Marciano-Cabral, Francine; Bradley, S. G.

doi:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2001.tb00432.x

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…No single drug has yet been shown to be effective against both the trophozoite and cyst stages of Acanthamoeba. Furthermore, Acanthamoeba infections are not readily recognized by clinicians or pathologists because many patients present with underlying disease (269). Depending on the immune status of the host, infection with Acanthamoeba spp.…”

Section: Treatment Of Acanthamoeba Infections Disseminated Acanthamoementioning

confidence: 99%

Acanthamoebaspp. as Agents of Disease in Humans

2003

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Acanthamoeba spp. are free-living amebae that inhabit a variety of air, soil, and water environments. However, these amebae can also act as opportunistic as well as nonopportunistic pathogens. They are the causative agents of granulomatous amebic encephalitis and amebic keratitis and have been associated with cutaneous lesions and sinusitis. Immuno compromised individuals, including AIDS patients, are particularly susceptible to infections with Acanthamoeba. The immune defense mechanisms that operate against Acanthamoeba have not been well characterized, but it has been proposed that both innate and acquired immunity play a role. The ameba's life cycle includes an active feeding trophozoite stage and a dormant cyst stage. Trophozoites feed on bacteria, yeast, and algae. However, both trophozoites and cysts can retain viable bacteria and may serve as reservoirs for bacteria with human pathogenic potential. Diagnosis of infection includes direct microscopy of wet mounts of cerebrospinal fluid or stained smears of cerebrospinal fluid sediment, light or electron microscopy of tissues, in vitro cultivation of Acanthamoeba, and histological assessment of frozen or paraffin-embedded sections of brain or cutaneous lesion biopsy material. Immunocytochemistry, chemifluorescent dye staining, PCR, and analysis of DNA sequence variation also have been employed for laboratory diagnosis. Treatment of Acanthamoeba infections has met with mixed results. However, chlorhexidine gluconate, alone or in combination with propamidene isethionate, is effective in some patients. Furthermore, effective treatment is complicated since patients may present with underlying disease and Acanthamoeba infection may not be recognized. Since an increase in the number of cases of Acanthamoeba infections has occurred worldwide, these protozoa have become increasingly important as agents of human disease

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Section: Treatment Of Acanthamoeba Infections Disseminated Acanthamoementioning

confidence: 99%

Acanthamoebaspp. as Agents of Disease in Humans

2003

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Screening of Swiss hot spring resorts for potentially pathogenic free-living amoebae

Gianinazzi

Schild

Zumkehr

et al. 2010

Experimental Parasitology

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Ramifications of the diverse mRNA patterns inAcanthamoeba royreba

Tyndall¹,

Ali

Newsome

2020

Preprint

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Free-living amoebae are distributed worldwide and can be found in a variety of environments. While most Acanthamoebae have been isolated from soil and water, A. royreba and A. culbertsoni were isolated from mammalian cell cultures. A. royreba's isolation from placental and tumoral tissue, its unusual ability to grow in mammalian cell culture media at 35 o C, and the presence of a primitive centriole, prompted us to investigate the potential for mammalian information in A. royreba. While some soil amoeba contain small amounts of fungal and bacterial information, presumably from the microbes they phagocytosed, the informational content of A. royreba, in some instances, was very different with > 70% of the mRNA being non-amoebic. Here we show that the proteins and mRNA content associated with A. royreba are extremely diverse and represent multiple Kingdoms, Orders, Phyla, and Genera from around the globe. The information in A. royreba, such as placental proteins from numerous mammals, the preponderance of non-amoebic mRNA, and its ability to tolerate harsh environments including Megarad irradiation, leads to a discussion regarding the possible role of this amoebae as an immunological gatekeeper protecting fetal or malignant tissue from destruction and its potential as a vehicle for panspermia.

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Current Research on Free‐living Amebae Causing Granulomatous Amebic Encephalitis

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Acanthamoebaspp. as Agents of Disease in Humans

Acanthamoebaspp. as Agents of Disease in Humans

Screening of Swiss hot spring resorts for potentially pathogenic free-living amoebae

Ramifications of the diverse mRNA patterns inAcanthamoeba royreba

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