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Acanthamoeba
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Acanthamoebaisagenusofamoebae,oneofthemostcommonprotozoa
insoil,andfrequentlyfoundinfreshwaterandotherhabitats.
Acanthamoebahastwoevolutiveforms,themetabolicallyactive
trophozoiteandadormant,stressresistantcyst.Trophozoitesaresmall,
usually15to35minlengthandamoeboidinshape.Innature,
Acanthamoebaspeciesarefreelivingbacterivores,butincertainsituations
theycancauseinfections(Acanthamebiasis)inhumansandother
animals.[1]

Acanthamoeba

Contents
Phasecontrastmicrographofan

1 Distribution
2 Roleindisease
2.1 Granulomatousamoebicencephalitis
2.2 Acanthamoebickeratitis
2.3 Bacterialinfection
3 Ecology
4 Physiology
4.1 Roleasamodelorganism
4.2 EndosymbiontsofAcanthamoeba
4.3 Giantviruses
5 Diversity
6 Seealso
7 References
8 Externallinks

Acanthamoebapolyphagacyst.

Scientificclassification
Domain:

Eukaryota

(unranked): Amoebozoa
(unranked): Discosea
Order:

Centramoebida

Family:

Acanthamoebidae

Genus:

Acanthamoeba

Distribution
Acanthamoebaspp.areamongthemostprevalentprotozoafoundintheenvironment.[1]Theyaredistributed
worldwide,andhavebeenisolatedfromsoil,air,sewage,seawater,chlorinatedswimmingpools,domestictap
water,bottledwater,dentaltreatmentunits,hospitals,airconditioningunits,andcontactlenscases.Additionally,
Acanthamoebahavebeenisolatedfromhumanskin,nasalcavities,throats,andintestines,aswellasplantsand
othermammals.[2]

Roleindisease
DiseasescausedbyAcanthamoebaincludekeratitisandgranulomatousamoebicencephalitis(GAE).[3]Thelatter
isoftenbutnotalwaysseeninimmunosuppressedpatients.[4]GAEiscausedbytheamoebaenteringthebody
throughanopenwoundthenspreadingtothebrain.[5]Thecombinationofhostimmuneresponseandamoebal
proteasescausesmassivebrainswelling[6]resultingindeathin~95%ofthoseinfected.

Granulomatousamoebicencephalitis
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Granulomatousamoebicencephalitisiscausedbyamoebainfectionofthe
centralnervoussystem.Itischaracterizedbyneurologicalsymptoms
includingheadache,seizures,andmentalstatusabnormalities.[1]These
worsenprogressivelyoverweekstomonths,leadingtodeathinmost
patients.[1]Infectionisgenerallyassociatedwithunderlyingconditions
suchasimmunodeficiency,diabetes,malignancies,malnutrition,systemic
lupuserythematosus,andalcoholism.[1]Theparasiteentersthebody
throughcutsintheskinorbybeinginhaledintotheupperrespiratory
tract.[1]Theparasitethenspreadsthroughthebloodintothecentralnervous
system.Acanthamoebacrossesthebloodbrainbarrierbymeansthatare
notyetunderstood.Subsequentinvasionoftheconnectivetissueand
inductionofproinflammatoryresponsesleadstoneuronaldamagethatcan
befatalwithindays.Apostmortembiopsyrevealssevereoedemaand
hemorrhagicnecrosis.[7]Apatientwhohascontractedthisillnessusually
displayssubacutesymptoms,includingalteredmentalstatus,headaches,
fever,neckstiffness,seizures,focalneurologicalsigns(suchascranial
nervepalsiesandcoma),allleadingtodeathwithinoneweektoseveral
months.[8]Duetotherarityofthisparasiteandalackofknowledge,there
arecurrentlynogooddiagnosesortreatmentsforAcanthamoebainfection.
Acanthamoebakeratitiscasesinthepast,whenweremanagedbyatropine
givenasanadjuvanttherapywithoutantiparasiticdrugsaddedtothe
regime,hadbeenreportedtohaltthevisionloss.Recentpublications
debatethesesuccessesrelatedtoanactionofAtropineonmuscarinic
receptorsonAcanthamoebaspp.[9]

Acanthamoebaencephalitis.Scale
bar:10m

Infectionusuallymimicsthatofbacterialleptomeningitis,tuberculous
meningitis,orviralencephalitis.Themisdiagnosisoftenleadstoerroneous,
ineffectivetreatment.InthecasethattheAcanthamoebaisdiagnosedcorrectly,thecurrenttreatments,suchas
amphotericinB,rifampicin,trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole,ketoconazole,fluconazole,sulfadiazine,or
albendazole,areonlytentativelysuccessful.Correctandtimelydiagnosis,aswellasimprovedtreatmentmethods
andanunderstandingoftheparasiteareimportantfactorsinimprovingtheoutcomeofinfectionby
Acanthamoeba.Arecentpaperpublishedin2013,hasshownsubstantialeffectsofsomeFDAapproveddrugswith
akillrateabove90%.[4]Theseresultswereinvitroeffects,butasthedrugsarealreadyapproved,human
infectionscanbetargetedafterdosecalculationsinclinicaltrialswiththem.

Acanthamoebickeratitis
Whenpresentintheeye,Acanthamoebastrainscancauseacanthamoebickeratitis,whichmayleadtocorneal
ulcersorevenblindness.[10]Thisconditionoccursmostoftenamongcontactlenswearerswhodonotproperly
disinfecttheirlenses,exacerbatedbyafailuretowashhandspriortohandlingthelenses.Multipurposecontact
lenssolutionsarelargelyineffectiveagainstAcanthamoeba,whereashydrogenperoxidebasedsolutionshave
gooddisinfectioncharacteristics.[11][12]
InMay2007,AdvancedMedicalOptics,manufacturerofCompleteMoisturePlusContactLensSolutionproducts,
issuedavoluntaryrecalloftheirCompleteMoisturePlussolutions.Thefearwasthatcontactlenswearerswho
usedtheirsolutionwereathigherriskofacanthamoebickeratitisthancontactlenswearerswhousedother
solutions.ThemanufacturerrecalledtheproductaftertheCentersforDiseaseControlintheUnitedStatesfound
that21individualshadpossiblyreceivedanAcanthamoebainfectionafterusingCompleteMoisturePlusinthe
monthpriortodiagnosis.[13]
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Bacterialinfection
Severalspeciesofbacteriawhichcancausehumandiseasearealsoableto
infectandreplicatewithinAcanthamoebaspecies.[1]Theseinclude
Legionellapneumophila,Pseudomonasaeruginosa,andsomestrainsof
EscherichiacoliandStaphylococcusaureus.[1][14]Forsomeofthese
bacteria,replicationinsideAcanthamoebahasbeenassociatedwith
enhancedgrowthinmacrophages,andincreasedresistancetosome
antibiotics.[1]Furthermore,duetothehighprevalenceofAcanthamoebain
theenvironment,ithasbeenproposedthattheseamoebacouldserveasan
environmentalreservoirforsomehumanpathogens.[1]
Acanthamoebacausingkeratitis

Ecology

A.castellaniicanbefoundathighdensitiesinvarioussoilecosystems.Itpreysonbacteria,butalsofungiand
otherprotozoa.
Thisspeciesisabletolysebacteriaandproduceawiderangeofenzymes,suchascellulasesorchitinases,[15]and
probablycontributestothebreakdownoforganicmatterinsoil,contributingtothemicrobialloop.

Physiology
Roleasamodelorganism
BecauseAcanthamoebadoesnotdiffergreatlyattheultrastructurallevelfromamammaliancell,itisanattractive
modelforcellbiologystudies.Acanthamoebaisimportantincellularmicrobiology,environmentalbiology,
physiology,cellularinteractions,molecularbiology,biochemistry,andevolutionarystudies,duetotheorganisms'
versatilerolesintheecosystemandabilitytocapturepreybyphagocytosis,actasvectorsandreservoirsfor
microbialpathogens,andtoproduceserioushumaninfections.Inaddition,Acanthamoebahasbeenused
extensivelytounderstandthemolecularbiologyofcellmotility[16]andcancercelldormancybyindepth
explorationoftheprocessofencystation[17]
TherecentlyavailableAcanthamoebagenomesequencerevealedseveralorthologsofgenesemployedinmeiosis
ofsexualeukaryotes.ThesegenesincludedSpo11,Mre11,Rad50,Rad51,Rad52,Mnd1,Dmc1,MshandMlh.[18]
ThisfindingsuggeststhatAcanthamoebaiscapableofsomeformofmeiosisandmaybeabletoundergosexual
reproduction.Furthermore,sinceAcanthamoebadivergedearlyfromtheeukaryoticfamilytree,theseresults
suggestthatmeiosiswaspresentearlyineukaryoticevolution.
Owingtoitseaseandeconomyofcultivation,theNeffstrainofA.castellaniidiscoveredinapondinGoldenGate
Parkinthe1960s,hasbeeneffectivelyusedasaclassicmodelorganisminthefieldofcellbiology.Fromjust30
litersofsimplemediuminoculatedwithA.castellanii,approximatelyonekilogramofcellscanbeobtainedafter
severaldaysofaeratedcultureatroomtemperature.PioneeredinthelaboratoryofEdwardD.KornattheNational
InstitutesofHealth(NIH),manyimportantbiologicalmoleculeshavebeendiscoveredandtheirpathways
elucidatedusingtheAcanthamoebamodel.ThomasDeanPollardappliedthismodelattheNIH,HarvardMedical
School,JohnsHopkinsUniversitySchoolofMedicine,andtheSalkInstituteforBiologicalStudiestodiscoverand
characterizemanyproteinsthatareessentialforcellmotility,notonlyinamoebas,butalsoinmanyother
eukaryoticcells,especiallythoseofthehumannervousandimmunesystems,thedevelopingembryo,andcancer
cells.
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EndosymbiontsofAcanthamoeba
Acanthamoebaspp.containdiversebacterialendosymbiontsthataresimilartohumanpathogens,sotheyare
consideredtobepotentialemerginghumanpathogens.[19]Theexactnatureofthesesymbiontsandthebenefitthey
representfortheamoebalhoststillhavetobeclarified.
TheseincludeLegionellaandLegionellalikepathogens.[20]

Giantviruses
ThegiantvirusesMimivirus,MegavirusandPandoravirusinfectAcanthamoeba.[21]
CurrentlyAcanthamoebaistheonlyspeciesthatisahostforsuchhugeviruses(whohavemorethan1000protein
codinggenesforinstance,Pandoravirushasabout2500proteincodinggenesinitsgenome).

Diversity
Acanthamoebacanbedistinguishedfromothergeneraofamoebabasedonmorphologicalcharacteristics.[22]
However,differentiatingonespeciesofAcanthamoebafromanotherbymorphologyhasprovendifficult.Basedon
18SrDNAsequencing,knownAcanthamoebastrainscanbeorganizedinto12groups,denotedT1T12.[22]Most
diseasecausingisolatesbelongtotypeT4.[22]
BelowisalistofdescribedspeciesofAcanthamoeba,withsequencetypesnotedwhereknown.Specieswhich
havebeenidentifiedindiseasedpatientsaremarkedwith*.
A.astronyxis*(T7)
A.byersi*
A.castellanii*(T4)
A.comandoni(T9)
A.culbertsoni*(T10)
A.divionensis(T4)
A.griffini(T3)
A.hatchetti*(T11)
A.healyi(T12)
A.jacobsi
A.keratitis*
A.lenticulata(T3)
A.lugdunensis*(T4)
A.mauritaniensis(T4)
A.palestinensis*(T1)
A.paradivionensis(T4)
A.pearcei
A.polyphaga*(T4)
A.pustulosa(T2)
A.quina*
A.rhysodes*(T4)
A.royreba
A.stevensoni(T11)
A.terricola(renamedA.castellaniiPoussard)
A.triangularis(T4)
A.tubiashi(T8)
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Seealso
Acanthamoebainfection
Acanthamoebakeratitis
Balamuthiamandrillaris
Granulomatousamoebicencephalitis
Legionella

References
1.MarcianoCabral,FrancineCabral,Guy(20030401)."Acanthamoebaspp.asAgentsofDiseaseinHumans".Clinical
MicrobiologyReviews16(2):273307.doi:10.1128/CMR.16.2.273307.2003.ISSN08938512.PMC153146.
PMID12692099.
2.JohanFDeJonckheere(1991)."EcologyofAcanthamoeba".ReviewsofInfectiousDiseases13:S385S387.
PMID2047667.
3.DiGregorio,CRivasiFMongiardoNDeRienzoBWallaceSVisvesvaraGS(December1992)."Acanthamoeba
meningoencephalitisinapatientwithacquiredimmunodeficiencysyndrome".ArchivesofPathology&Laboratory
Medicine116(12):13635.PMID1456885.
4.BaigAM(2014)."Granulomatousamoebicencephalitis:ghostresponseofanimmunocompromisedhost?".JMed
Microbiol63((Pt12)):17636.doi:10.1099/jmm.0.0813150.PMID25239626.
5.BaigAM,IqbalJ,KhanNA(2013)."Invitroefficaciesofclinicallyavailabledrugsagainstthegrowthandviabilityofan
Acanthamoebacastellaniikeratitisisolate".AntimicrobAgentsChemother57(8):35617.doi:10.1128/AAC.0029913.
PMC3719691.PMID23669391.
6.BaigAM(April27,2015)."PathogenesisofAmoebicEncephalitis:AretheAmoebasbeingcreditedtoan'Insidejob'
donebytheHostImmuneresponse?".ActaTrop:pii.doi:10.1016/j.actatropica.2015.04.022.PMID25930186.
7.Khan,N(November2006)."Acanthamoebainvasionofthecentralnervoussystem".InternationalJournalfor
Parasitology37(2):1318.doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2006.11.010.PMID17207487.
8.Kaushal,VChhinaDKKumarRPannuHSDhooriaHPSChhinaRS(March2007)."AcanthamoebaEncephalitis".
IndianJournalofMedicalMicrobiology26(2):1824.doi:10.4103/02550857.40539.PMID18445961.
9.Baig,AMetal.(2014)."RecommendationsforthemanagementofAcanthamoebakeratitis".JournalofMedical
Microbiology63:7701.doi:10.1099/jmm.0.0692370.
10.LorenzoMorales,JacobKhan,NaveedA.Walochnik,Julia(2015)."AnupdateonAcanthamoebakeratitis:diagnosis,
pathogenesisandtreatment".Parasite22:10.doi:10.1051/parasite/2015010.ISSN17761042.PMID25687209.
11.ShoffME,JoslinCE,TuEY,KubatkoL,FuerstPA(July2008)."Efficacyofcontactlenssystemsagainstrecentclinical
andtapwaterAcanthamoebaisolates".Cornea27(6):7139.doi:10.1097/QAI.0b013e31815e7251.PMID18580265.
12.JohnstonSP,SriramR,QvarnstromY,RoyS,VeraniJ,YoderJ,LorickS,RobertsJ,BeachMJ,VisvesvaraG(July
2009)."ResistanceofAcanthamoebacyststodisinfectioninmultiplecontactlenssolutions".JClinMicrobiol47(7):
20405.doi:10.1128/JCM.0057509.PMC2708465.PMID19403771.
13.AbbottMedicalOptics(http://www.amoinc.com/pdf/prcmp.pdf)
14.HuwsSAMorleyRJJonesMVBrownMRSmithAW(2008)."Interactionsofsomecommonpathogenicbacteria
withAcanthamoebapolyphaga".FEMSMicrobiologyLetters282(2):258265.doi:10.1111/j.15746968.2008.01123.x.
PMID18399997.
15.Anderson,I.J.Watkins,R.F.,Samuelson,J.,Spencer,D.F.,Majoros,W.H.,Gray,M.W.andLoftus,B.J.(August
2005)."GeneDiscoveryintheAcanthamoebacastellaniiGenome".Protist156(2):20314.
doi:10.1016/j.protis.2005.04.001.PMID16171187.
16.KhanN(2009).Acanthamoeba:BiologyandPathogenesis.CaisterAcademicPress.ISBN9781904455431.
17.BaigAM,KhanNA,AbbasF.Eukaryoticcellencystationandcancercelldormancy:isagreaterdevilveiledinthedetails
ofalesserevil?CancerBiol
18.KhanNA,SiddiquiR(2015)."Isthereevidenceofsexualreproduction(meiosis)inAcanthamoeba?".PathogGlob
Health109(4):1935.doi:10.1179/2047773215Y.0000000009.PMID25800982.
19.Horn,MWagner,M(SepOct2004)."BacterialEndosymbiontsofFreelivingAmoebae".JournalofEukaryotic
Microbiology51(5):50914.doi:10.1111/j.15507408.2004.tb00278.x.PMID15537084.
20.Schuster,F.Visvesvara,G.(2004)."Opportunisticamoebae:challengesinprophylaxisandtreatment".Drugresistance
updates:reviewsandcommentariesinantimicrobialandanticancerchemotherapy7(1):4151.
doi:10.1016/j.drup.2004.01.002.PMID15072770.
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21.NadgePhilippeMatthieuLegendreGabrielDoutreetal.(July2013)."Pandoraviruses:AmoebaViruseswithGenomes
Upto2.5MbReachingThatofParasiticEukaryotes".Science341(6143):2816.doi:10.1126/science.1239181.
PMID23869018.
22.HyunHeeKong(October2009)."MolecularPhylogenyofAcanthamoeba".KoreanJournalofParasitology47:S21
S28.doi:10.3347/kjp.2009.47.S.S21.PMC2769217.

Externallinks
Acanthamoeba(http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/acanthamoeba/)CentersforDiseaseControland
Prevention
Millionsofcontactlensusersareatriskofeyedevouringamoeba(http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article
2199343/Contactlenswearersmercybugtapwatergnawseyeballscausingblindness.html)
VideoofAcanthamoebafromcontactlenskeratitis(http://lifeinthefastlane.com/2009/12/fascinella004/)
MarcianoCabralF,CabralG(2003)."Acanthamoebaspp.asAgentsofDiseaseinHumans".Clin.
Microbiol.Rev.16(2):273307.doi:10.1128/CMR.16.2.273307.2003.PMID12692099.
Comprehensiveresourceon(http://www.bms.ed.ac.uk/research/others/smaciver/acanthamoeba.htm)
Amoeba
EyehealthandAcanthamoeba(http://www.ukoptometry.co.uk/uncategorized/2007/03/26/swimmingaround
inapoolofacanthamoeba/)
Acanthamoebapicturesandillustrations(http://www.caister.com/acanthamoeba/)
AdvancedMedicalOpticsrecallofMoisturePlusproducts(http://www.amoinc.com/pdf/prcmp.pdf)
Retrievedfrom"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Acanthamoeba&oldid=721028082"
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