Acanthamoeba T4 genotype is the most prevalent genotype associated with amoebic keratitis. Acanthamoeba keratitis therapy is difficult due to transformation of trophozoite to cyst stage, which hinders the treatment of the disease. Although encystation assists the organism to survive against the chemotherapeutic compounds, the precise mechanism of encystation remains poorly understood. The purpo...

Acanthamoebic keratitis, a potentially devastating infection usually associated with contact lens wear, has been recognized with increasing frequency in recent years. Once the Acanthamoeba organisms gain access to the human cornea, it is not clear which constituents of the corneal milieu provide a substrate for their growth. The growth of Acanthamoeba polyphaga was investigated on cultured mono...

Restriction endonuclease digestion of Acanthamoeba whole-cell DNA was used to study the relationship between 33 morphologically identical strains from keratitis cases (30 strains), contact lens storage containers (2 strains), and soil (1 strain). Samples digested with BglII, EcoRI, or HindIII and separated by agarose gel electrophoresis contained detectable mitochondrial DNA restriction fragmen...

AIM To investigate the hypothesis that persistent corneal and scleral inflammation following acanthamoeba keratitis is not always caused by active amoebic infection but can be due to persisting acanthamoebic antigens METHODS 24 lamellar corneal biopsy and penetrating keratoplasty specimens were obtained from 14 consecutive patients at various stages of their disease and divided for microscopy...

Acanthamoeba causes opportunistic eye infections in humans, which can lead to severe keratitis and may ultimately result in blindness. Current methods for identifying this organism rely on culture and microscopy. In this paper, we describe the isolation of antibody fragments that can be used for the unequivocal identification of Acanthamoeba. A bacteriophage antibody display library was used to...

Acanthamoeba can cause fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE) and eye keratitis. However, the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of these emerging diseases remain unclear. In this study, the effects of Acanthamoeba on the host cell cycle using human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC) and human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) were determined. Two isolates of Acanthamoeba belongi...

PURPOSE Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a painful and potentially blinding corneal infection caused by Acanthamoeba spp. In Madrid, environmental studies have demonstrated a high presence of these free-living amoebae in tap water. Since most of AK cases occur in contact lenses (CL) wearers with inadequate hygiene habits, the presence of Acanthamoeba in discarded CL has been studied and compared ...

The amphizoic protozoa Acanthamoeba species are able to be free-living amoebae in environment or as parasites in humans and animals. These species comprise nearly 30 species and they have an increased role as human pathogens causing encephalitis in the nervous system or keratitis in the eyes. In diagnosis of a clinical sample of eye contact lens, light microscopy showed a heavy growth of amoebo...

Free-living amoebas (AVLs), such as Acanthamoeba, Naegleria, Balamuthia, and Vermamoeba, have been identified in both natural man-made settings, hot springs spas. Naegleria fowleri causes primary amebic meningoencephalitis, while Acanthamoeba Balamuthia cause chronic granulomatous encephalitis. can also skin lesions amoebic keratitis. This study aimed to identify the presence of these protozoa ...