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Journal of Parasitology Research 2023is known to cause amoebic keratitis (AK); its main causes are inadequate hygiene when contact lenses are handled and/or its prolonged use at night, as well as the use...
is known to cause amoebic keratitis (AK); its main causes are inadequate hygiene when contact lenses are handled and/or its prolonged use at night, as well as the use of contact lenses during underwater activities. The most used treatment for AK is the combination of propamidine isethionate combined with polyhexamethylene biguanide, which disrupts the cytoplasmic membrane, and damages cellular components and respiratory enzymes. We proposed an immunoconjugate treatment obtained from immunized rabbit serum combined with propamidine isethionate; the corneas of hamsters inoculated with (MYP2004) were treated with the combined, at 1, 2, and 3 weeks. Propamidine isethionate is frequently used for AK treatment, study we are found IL-1 and IL-10 expression and caspase 3 activity is significantly increased with respect to the group that was inoculated with the amoeba without receiving any treatment, suggesting that it may be an effect of the toxicity of this drug on the corneal tissue. Application of the immunoconjugate showed enhanced amoebicidal and anti-inflammatory activities, with comparison to propamidine isethionate only. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the immunoconjugate of propamidine isethionate and polyclonal antibodies as a treatment of AK in golden hamsters ().
PubMed: 37143958
DOI: 10.1155/2023/3713368 -
Antioxidants (Basel, Switzerland) Dec 2023is a ubiquitous genus of amoebae that can act as opportunistic parasites in both humans and animals, causing a variety of ocular, nervous and dermal pathologies....
is a ubiquitous genus of amoebae that can act as opportunistic parasites in both humans and animals, causing a variety of ocular, nervous and dermal pathologies. Despite advances in therapy, the management of patients with infections remains a challenge for health services. Therefore, there is a need to search for new active substances against Acanthamoebae. In the present study, we evaluated the amoebicidal activity of nitroxoline against the trophozoite and cyst stages of six different strains of . The strain showed the lowest IC value in the trophozoite stage (0.69 ± 0.01 µM), while the strain L-10 showed the lowest IC value in the cyst stage (0.11 ± 0.03 µM). In addition, nitroxoline induced in treated trophozoites of features compatibles with apoptosis and autophagy pathways, including chromatin condensation, mitochondrial malfunction, oxidative stress, changes in cell permeability and the formation of autophagic vacuoles. Furthermore, proteomic analysis of the effect of nitroxoline on trophozoites revealed that this antibiotic induced the overexpression and the downregulation of proteins involved in the apoptotic process and in metabolic and biosynthesis pathways.
PubMed: 38136200
DOI: 10.3390/antiox12122081 -
Isolation and characterization of Acanthamoeba spp. from air-conditioners in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Acta Tropica Jan 2011During a study on the quality of the indoor environment, Acanthamoeba spp. were detected in 20 out of 87 dust samples collected from air-conditioners installed in a...
During a study on the quality of the indoor environment, Acanthamoeba spp. were detected in 20 out of 87 dust samples collected from air-conditioners installed in a four-story campus building located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Twenty-one cloned Acanthamoeba isolates designated as IMU1 to IMU21 were established from the positive primary cultures. Five species were identified from the 16 isolates according to the morphological criteria of Pussard and Pons; i.e. A. castellanii, A. culbertsoni, A. griffini, A. hatchetti and A. polyphaga. Species identities for the remaining five isolates (IMU4, IMU5, IMU15, IMU20 and IMU21), however, could not be determined morphologically. At genotypic characterization, these isolates were placed into T3 (IMU14); T5 (IMU16 and IMU17) and T4 (all the remaining isolates). To predict the potential pathogenicity of these Acanthamoeba isolates, thermo- and osmotolerance tests were employed; many isolates were predicted as potential human pathogens based on the outcome of these tests. This is the first time potentially pathogenic Acanthamoeba have been isolated from air-conditioners in Malaysia.
Topics: Acanthamoeba; Air Conditioning; Cell Survival; Cluster Analysis; DNA, Protozoan; DNA, Ribosomal; Dust; Environmental Microbiology; Genes, rRNA; Hot Temperature; Humans; Malaysia; Microscopy; Molecular Sequence Data; Osmotic Pressure; Phylogeny; RNA, Protozoan; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S; Sequence Analysis, DNA
PubMed: 20858455
DOI: 10.1016/j.actatropica.2010.09.004 -
Mikrobiyoloji Bulteni Jul 2018The free living amoebae cause various infections such as Acanthamoeba keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, primer amoebic meningoencephalitis in humans and...
The free living amoebae cause various infections such as Acanthamoeba keratitis, granulomatous amoebic encephalitis, primer amoebic meningoencephalitis in humans and animals. The free living amoebae Acanthamoeba, Balamuthia mandriallis, Naegleria fowleria and Sappinia species that cause disease in humans have been isolated from many environmental materials until today. However, no isolation has been reported from the filters of the air conditions from the houses used for ventilation. The aim of this study was toinvestigate the existence of free living amoebae using molecular methods in the filters of air-conditions used in the study living area of the people. A total of 30 dust samples were taken from the filtersof air-conditions in Adana and Gaziantep province of Turkey. DNA isolation of the dust samples was performed using the DNeasy PowerSoil kit (Qiagen, Germany) and polymerase chain reaction was done with specific primers of Acanthamoeba spp., B.mandriallis, N.fowleria and Sappinia species. As a result of this study, Acanthamoeba spp. was determined as 33.3% (5/15) and B.mandriallis was determined as6.6% (1/15) in Adana province. On the other hand, Acanthamoeba species was determined as 26.6% (4/15) and B.mandriallis was determined as 13.3% (2/15) in Gaziantep province. N.fowleria and Sappina species were not detectedin both of the cities. DNA sequence analysis was performed for the confirmation of the species and 99% of the results were similar to the other species in GenBank. The rates of Acanthamoeba castellanii and Acanthamoeba griffinii (T3) were determined as %66.6 (6/9) and 33.3% (3/9), respectively by DNA sequencing. Distribution of Acanthamoeba species according to the cities were 33.3% (3/9) for A.castellanii and 22.2% (2/9) for A.griffini in Adana. It was 33.3% (3/9) for A.castellanii and 11.1% (1/9) for A.griffini in Gaziantep. There was no significant difference in the distribution of the parasite species among cities (p> 0.1). It is important to raise awareness of the diseases caused by free living amoebae among people. Acanthamoeba species have been reported frequently from environmental materials in Turkey, but B.mandriallis has not been reported from any environmental sample since this study. The presence of B.mandriallis has been reported in the air-conditions of houses in this study. This result shows that people have risk in terms of illness of free living amoebae in living areas. Our study emphasized that firstly the health personnel and then the people should be informed about the deadly parasites and the cleaning of the air conditions should be done in certain periods.
Topics: Air Conditioning; Amebiasis; Balamuthia mandrillaris; Household Articles; Humans; Turkey
PubMed: 30156514
DOI: 10.5578/mb.67092 -
The Korean Journal of Parasitology Sep 1999We investigated the value of mitochondrial small subunit rRNA gene (mt SSU rDNA) PCR-RFLP as a taxonomic tool for Acanthamoeba isolates with close inter-relationships....
We investigated the value of mitochondrial small subunit rRNA gene (mt SSU rDNA) PCR-RFLP as a taxonomic tool for Acanthamoeba isolates with close inter-relationships. Twenty-five isolates representing 20 species were included in the analysis. As in nuclear 18S rDNA analysis, two type strains (A. astronyxis and A. tubiashi) of morphological group 1 diverged earliest from the other strains, but the divergence between them was less than in 18S riboprinting. Acanthamoeba griffini of morphological group 2 branched between pathogenic (A. culbertsoni A-1 and A. healyi OC-3A) and nonpathogenic (A. palestinensis Reich, A. pustulosa GE-3a, A. royreba Oak Ridge, and A lenticulata PD2S) strains of morphological group 3. Among the remaining isolates of morphological group 2, the Chang strain had the identical mitochondrial riboprints as the type strain of A. hatchetti. AA2 and AA1, the type strains of A. divionensis and A. paradivionensis, respectively, had the identical riboprints as A. quina Vil3 and A. castellanii Ma. Although the branching orders of A. castellanii Neff, A. polyphaga P23, A. triangularis SH621, and A. lugdunensis L3a were different from those in 18S riboprinting analysis, the results obtained from this study generally coincided well with those from 18S riboprinting. Mitochondrial riboprinting may have an advantage over nuclear 18S rDNA riboprinting because the mt SSU rDNAs do not seem to have introns that are found in the 18S genes of Acanthamoeba and that distort phylogenetic analyses.
Topics: Acanthamoeba; Animals; DNA, Mitochondrial; DNA, Protozoan; DNA, Ribosomal; Phylogeny; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length
PubMed: 10507226
DOI: 10.3347/kjp.1999.37.3.181 -
The Korean Journal of Parasitology Jun 1998Subgenus classification of Acanthamoeba remains uncertain. Twenty-three reference strains of Acanthamoeba including 18 (neo)type-strains were subjected for...
Subgenus classification of Acanthamoeba remains uncertain. Twenty-three reference strains of Acanthamoeba including 18 (neo)type-strains were subjected for classification at the subgenus level by riboprinting. PCR/RFLP analysis of 18S rRNA gene (rDNA). On the dendrogram reconstructed on the basis of riboprint analyses, two type-strains (A. astronyxis and A. tubiashi) of morphological group 1 diverged early from the other strains and were quite distinct from each other. Four type-strains of morphological group 3, A. culbertsoni, A. palestinensis, A. healyi were considered taxonomically valid, but A. pustulosa was regarded as an invalid synonym of A. palestinensis. Strains of morphological group 2 were classified into 6 subgroups. Among them, A. griffini which has an intron in its 18S rDNA was the most divergent from the remaining strains. Acanthamoeba castellanii Castellani, A. quina Vil3, A. lugdunensis L3a, A. polyphaga Jones, A. triangularis SH621, and A. castellanii Ma strains belonged to a subgroup, A. castellanii complex. However, A. quina and A. lugdunensis were regarded as synonyms of A. castellanii. The Chang strain could be regarded as A. hatchetti. Acanthamoeba mauritaniensis, A. divionensis, A. paradivionensis could be considered as synonyms of A. rhysodes. Neff strain was regarded as A. polyphaga rather than as A. castellanii. It is likely that riboprinting can be applied for rapid identification of Acanthamoeba isolated from the clinical specimens and environments.
Topics: Acanthamoeba; Animals; DNA, Protozoan; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Polymorphism, Restriction Fragment Length; RNA, Protozoan; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S
PubMed: 9637824
DOI: 10.3347/kjp.1998.36.2.69 -
Frontiers in Microbiology 2015The Megavirales are a newly described order capable of infecting different types of eukaryotic hosts. For the most part, the natural host is unknown. Several methods...
The Megavirales are a newly described order capable of infecting different types of eukaryotic hosts. For the most part, the natural host is unknown. Several methods have been used to detect these viruses, with large discrepancies between molecular methods and co-cultures. To isolate giant viruses, we propose the use of different species of amoeba as a cellular support. The aim of this work was to isolate new Brazilian giant viruses by comparing the protozoa Acanthamoeba castellanii, A. polyphaga, A. griffini, and Vermamoeba vermiformis (VV) as a platform for cellular isolation using environmental samples. One hundred samples were collected from 3 different areas in September 2014 in the Pampulha lagoon of Belo Horizonte city, Minas Gerais, Brazil. PCR was used to identify the isolated viruses, along with hemacolor staining, labelling fluorescence and electron microscopy. A total of 69 viruses were isolated. The highest ratio of isolation was found in A. polyphaga (46.38%) and the lowest in VV (0%). Mimiviruses were the most frequently isolated. One Marseillevirus and one Pandoravirus were also isolated. With Brazilian environmental samples, we demonstrated the high rate of lineage A mimiviruses. This work demonstrates how these viruses survive and circulate in nature as well the differences between protozoa as a platform for cellular isolation.
PubMed: 26500630
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2015.01086 -
The Korean Journal of Parasitology Jun 2006Genetic diversity of 18 Acanthamoeba isolates from ocean sediments was evaluated by comparing mitochondrial (mt) DNA RFLP, 18S rDNA sequences and by examining their...
Genetic diversity of 18 Acanthamoeba isolates from ocean sediments was evaluated by comparing mitochondrial (mt) DNA RFLP, 18S rDNA sequences and by examining their cytopathic effects on human corneal epithelial cells versus reference strains. All isolates belonged to morphologic group II. Total of 16 restriction phenotypes of mtDNA from 18 isolates demonstrated the genetic diversity of Acanthamoeba in ocean sediments. Phylogenetic analysis using 18s rDNA sequences revealed that the 18 isolates were distinct from morphological groups I and III. Fifteen isolates showed close relatedness with 17 clinical isolates and A. castellanii Castellani and formed a lineage equivalent to T4 genotype of Byers group. Two reference strains from ocean sediment, A. hatchetti BH-2 and A. griffini S-7 clustered unequivocally with these 15 isolates. Diversity among isolates was also evident from their cytopathic effects on human corneal cells. This is the first time describing Acanthamoeba diversity in ocean sediments in Korea.
Topics: Acanthamoeba; Animals; DNA, Mitochondrial; Epithelial Cells; Epithelium, Corneal; Genetic Variation; Geologic Sediments; Humans; Oceans and Seas; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal, 18S
PubMed: 16809959
DOI: 10.3347/kjp.2006.44.2.117 -
Nucleic Acids Research Feb 1994The discovery of group I introns in small subunit nuclear rDNA (nsrDNA) is becoming more common as the effort to generate phylogenies based upon nsrDNA sequences grows....
The discovery of group I introns in small subunit nuclear rDNA (nsrDNA) is becoming more common as the effort to generate phylogenies based upon nsrDNA sequences grows. In this paper we describe the discovery of the first two group I introns in the nsrDNA from the genus Acanthamoeba. The introns are in different locations in the genes, and have no significant primary sequence similarity to each other. They are identified as group I introns by the conserved P, Q, R and S sequences (1), and the ability to fit the sequences to a consensus secondary structure model for the group I introns (1, 2). Both introns are absent from the mature srRNA. A BLAST search (3) of nucleic acid sequences present in GenBank and EMBL revealed that the A. griffini intron was most similar to the nsrDNA group I intron of the green alga Dunaliella parva. A similar search found that the A. lenticulata intron was not similar to any of the other reported group I introns.
Topics: Acanthamoeba; Animals; Base Sequence; Genes, Protozoan; Introns; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleic Acid Conformation; Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA, Protozoan; RNA, Ribosomal
PubMed: 8127708
DOI: 10.1093/nar/22.4.592