| Acanthamoeba | |
|---|---|
| Phase contrast micrograph of an Acanthamoeba polyphaga cyst. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Amoebozoa |
| Family: | Acanthamoebidae |
| Genus: | Acanthamoeba |
Acanthamoeba is a genus of amoebae, one of the most common protozoa in soil, and also frequently found in fresh water and other habitats. The cells are small, usually 15 to 35 μm in length and oval to triangular in shape when moving. The pseudopods form a clear hemispherical lobe at the anterior, and there are various short filose extensions from the margins of the body. These give it a spiny appearance, which is what the name Acanthamoeba refers to. Cysts are common. Most species are free-living bacterivores, but some are opportunists that can cause infections in humans and other animals.
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Diseases caused by Acanthamoeba include amoebic keratitis and encephalitis.[1] The latter is caused by Acanthamoeba entering cuts and spreading to the central nervous system.
This is an opportunistic protozoan pathogen that rarely causes disease in humans. Approximately 400 cases have been reported worldwide, with a survival rate of only two to three percent. Infection usually occurs in patients with an immunodeficiency, diabetes, malignancies, malnutrition, systemic lupus erythematosus, or alcoholism. The parasite's portal of entry is via lesions in the skin or the upper respiratory tract or via inhalation of airborne cysts. The parasite then spreads hematogenously into the central nervous system. Acanthamoeba crosses the blood-brain barrier by means that are not yet understood. Subsequent invasion of the connective tissue and induction of pro-inflammatory responses leads to neuronal damage which can be fatal within days. A post mortem biopsy reveals severe oedema and hemorrhagic necrosis.[2] A patient who has contracted this illness usually displays subacute symptoms, including altered mental status, headaches, fever, neck stiffness, seizures, focal neurological signs (such as cranial nerve palsies and coma), all leading to death within one week to several months.[3] Due to the rarity of this parasite and a lack of knowledge, there are currently no good diagnoses or treatments for Acanthamoeba infection.
Infection usually mimics that of bacterial leptomeningitis, tuberculous meningitis, or viral encephalitis. The misdiagnosis often leads to erroneous, ineffective treatment. In the case that Acanthamoeba is diagnosed correctly, the current treatments, such as amphotericin-B, rifampicin, trimethroprim-sulfamethoxazole, ketokonazole, fluconazole, sulfadiazine, or albendazole, are only tentatively successful. Correct and timely diagnosis, as well as improved treatment methods and an understanding of the parasite are important factors in improving the outcome of infection by Acanthamoeba.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylocaccus aureus (MRSA) is an important pathogen in the hospital setting due to its resistance to many antibiotics. Recent findings from the University of Bath demonstrate that MRSA can infect and replicate inside Acanthamoeba polyphaga cells; this species is widespread throughout the environment. Since A. polyphaga can form cysts, cysts infected with MRSA can act as a mode of airborne dispersal for MRSA. Additionally, it is noted that "evidence with other pathogens suggests that pathogens that emerge from amoeba are more resistant to antibiotics and more virulent."[4] Acanthamoeba has been observed to increase MRSA numbers by up to 1000-fold.[5] The Acanthamoeba gets into the body either through the skin or up the nose. It then travels through the nervous system to the brain; once there, it eats brain cells. After feeding, it divides rapidly, causing sudden and massive inflammation, killing the human host in just a few days.
A. castellanii can be found at high densities in various soil ecosystems. It preys on bacteria, but also fungi and other protozoa.
This species is able to lyse bacteria and produce a wide range of enzymes, such as cellulases or chitinases,[6] and probably contributes to the breakdown of organic matter in soil, contributing to the microbial loop.
Species of Acanthamoeba are distinguished mainly on the form of cysts, and include the following; those marked with an asterisk are known to cause infections.
Acanthamoeba spp. contain diverse bacterial endosymbionts which are similar to human pathogens, so they are considered to be potential emerging human pathogens.[7] The exact nature of these symbionts and the benefit they represent for the amoebal host still have to be clarified.
These include Legionella and Legionella-like pathogens.[8]
Because Acanthamoeba does not differ greatly at the ultrastructural-level from a mammalian cell, it is an attractive model for cell biology studies. Acanthamoeba is important in cellular microbiology, environmental biology, physiology, cellular interactions, molecular biology, biochemistry, and evolutionary studies, due to the organisms' versatile roles in the ecosystem and ability to capture prey by phagocytosis, act as vectors and reservoirs for microbial pathogens, and to produce serious human infections. In addition, Acanthamoeba has been used extensively to understand the molecular biology of cell motility.[9]
Owing to its ease and economy of cultivation, the Neff strain of A. castellanii discovered in a pond in Golden Gate Park in the 1960s, has been effectively used as a classic model organism in the field of cell biology. From just 30 liters of simple medium inoculated with A. castellanii, approximately one kilogram of cells can be obtained after several days of aerated culture at room temperature. Pioneered in the laboratory of Dr. Edward D. Korn at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), many important biological molecules have been discovered and their pathways elucidated using the Acanthamoeba model. Dr. Thomas Dean Pollard applied this model at the NIH, Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the Salk Institute for Biological Studies to discover and characterize many proteins that are essential for cell motility, not only in amoebas, but also in many other eukaryotic cells, especially those of the human nervous and immune systems, the developing embryo, and cancer cells.
In May 2007, Advanced Medical Optics, manufacturer of Complete Moisture Plus Contact Lens Solution products, issued a voluntary recall of their Complete Moisture Plus solutions. The fear was that contact lens wearers who used their solution were at higher risk than those who used other contact lens solutions to develop acanthamoebic keratitis.
The manufacturer recalled the product after the Centers for Disease Control in the United States found that 21 individuals had possibly received an Acanthamoeba infection after using Complete Moisture Plus in the month prior to diagnosis.[10]
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