For a more precise definition of the clinicopathological features of experimental acanthamoebic infection in mice, trophozoites of Acanthamoeba castellanii and Acanthamoeba polyphaga were instilled intranasally into adult white mice. Eight to 20 days after inoculation, severe pulmonary disease developed; one to two days later, neurological signs ensued. On pathologic examination an amebic bronc...

The binding of tropomyosin to F-actin is strongly dependent on M&+ concentration. With muscle actin, in the presence of 2 mu ATP, binding begins at 4 mM M&+ and is complete at about 4.75 mu Mg+ while, with Acanthamoeba actin, binding is initiated at 6 mu M&+ and reaches saturation at 8.5 InM Mg+. Copolymers of muscle and Acanthamoeba actin, however, behave as unique species of actin, each with ...

Free-living amoebae of the genus Acanthamoeba can cause severe and chronic infections in humans, mainly localized in immune privileged sites, such as the brain and the eye. Monocytes/macrophages are thought to be involved in Acanthamoeba infections, but little is known about how these facultative parasites influence their functions. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of Acantha...

Free-living amoebae of the genus Acanthamoeba are causal agents of a severe sight-threatening infection of the cornea known as Acanthamoeba keratitis. Moreover, the number of reported cases worldwide is increasing year after year, mostly in contact lens wearers, although cases have also been reported in non-contact lens wearers. Interestingly, Acanthamoeba keratitis has remained significant, de...

The majority of the keratitis-causing Acanthamoeba isolates are genotype T4. In an attempt to determine whether predominance of T4 isolates in Acanthamoeba keratitis is due to greater virulence or greater prevalence of this genotype, Acanthamoeba genotypes were determined for 13 keratitis isolates and 12 environmental isolates from Iran. Among 13 clinical isolates, eight (61.5%) belonged to T4,...

PURPOSE To produce animal models of Acanthamoeba keratitis and to evaluate the advantages and adaptation range of each of the three methods employed. MATERIALS AND METHODS Mice and Wistar rats in three groups of 15 rats and 15 mice each were used to establish the models. Right corneas in group A were scratched and challenged with Acanthamoeba. Those in group B were scratched and covered with ...

Acanthamoeba keratitis is uncommon, but one of the most severe infectious diseases of the cornea. Delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis as bacterial or herpes simplex keratitis leads to extensive corneal inflammation and profound visual loss. Therefore, accurate and rapid diagnosis of Acanthamoeba keratitis is essential for successful treatment and good prognosis. We evaluated the usefulness of acr...

Members of the free-living amebic genera Acanthamoeba, Balamuthia, and Naegleria are known to cause infections of the central nervous system (CNS) of humans and other animals. Several species of Acanthamoeba cause an insidious and chronic disease, granulomatous amebic encephalitis (GAE), principally in immunocompromised hosts including persons infected with HIV/AIDS. Additionally, Acanthamoeba ...

Acanthamoeba are typically identified in the laboratory using culture and microscopic observation. In this paper we describe the isolation and specificity of antibody fragments that can be used for the identification of Acanthamoeba. A phage library expressing a large repertoire (approx. 5 x 10(9)) of antibody fragments was used to generate two libraries one enriched for bacteriophage that exhi...