Acanthamoeba spp. as Factors for Severe Infectious Diseases in Humans, 2nd Edition

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2024) | Viewed by 3389

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Medical Biology, Medical University of Warsaw, Litewska 14/16, 00-575 Warsaw, Poland
Interests: infections, pathogenesis, pathogens, clinical and laboratory diagnosis, in vitro investigation, molecular biology examination, PCR, TEM, SEM, medical microbiology, medical .parasitology, nosocomial Infections
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Guest Editor
Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
Interests: diagnosis; diagnosis and treatment; cataract surgery; glaucoma surgery and glaucoma/cataract surgery; lens implants; corneal diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is a continuation of our previous Special Issue, “Acanthamoeba spp. as Factors for Severe Infectious Diseases in Humans”.

Different strains of Acanthamoeba spp., widely distributed in natural and man-made environments, are able to enter the human body from different sources, causing pathogenic effects. They are etiological agents of a rare, usually fatal granulomatous amoebic encephalitis developing in immunocompromised individuals. Pathogenic Acanthamoeba strains cause the vision-threatening, difficult-to-diagnose corneal disease Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). The progressive, devastating, considered-rare disease can result in a loss of visual acuity and even blindness; successful treatment has not yet been fully established. In recent decades, incidents of AK have been detected with increasing frequency, especially in contact lens wearers. Threats to individual and public health caused by AK remain poorly investigated. They are a worldwide medical problem; however, the knowledge and awareness of them are still insufficient. There are challenges in AK management: suitable clinical and laboratory diagnosis, in vivo/in vitro and molecular techniques, epidemiology aspects, chemotherapy, pathogenesis mechanisms, the potential role of concomitant infections and endosymbiotic microorganisms as secondary disease factors, an association with oral cavity microbiota, the influence of various risk factors. In this Special Issue, we will present up-to-date data and advanced research on the prevention of health threats caused by Acanthamoeba spp. infections.

Prof. Dr. Lidia Chomicz
Prof. Dr. Jacek P. Szaflik
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • Acanthamoeba
  • facultative parasites
  • epidemiological aspects
  • contact lens
  • diagnosis and treatment
  • Acanthamoeba keratitis
  • concomitant infections bacteria and fungi
  • endosymbiotic microorganisms
  • trophozoites and cysts
  • oral cavity microbiota
  • slit lamp
  • confocal microscopy
  • corneal isolates and cultivation methods
  • in vivo and in vitro and molecular techniques.

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 1801 KiB  
Article
Concomitant Potentially Contagious Factors Detected in Poland and Regarding Acanthamoeba Strains, Etiological Agents of Keratitis in Humans
by Lidia Chomicz, Jacek P. Szaflik, Agnieszka Kuligowska, David Bruce Conn, Wanda Baltaza, Beata Szostakowska, Paweł J. Zawadzki, Monika Dybicz, Anna Machalińska, Konrad Perkowski, Anna Bajer and Jerzy Szaflik
Microorganisms 2024, 12(12), 2445; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12122445 - 28 Nov 2024
Viewed by 850
Abstract
Background: Diseases in humans caused by amphizoic amoebae that can result in visual impairment and even blindness, have recently been identified more frequently worldwide. Etiologically complex incidents of keratitis, including those connected with Acanthamoeba strains detected in Poland, were evaluated in this study. [...] Read more.
Background: Diseases in humans caused by amphizoic amoebae that can result in visual impairment and even blindness, have recently been identified more frequently worldwide. Etiologically complex incidents of keratitis, including those connected with Acanthamoeba strains detected in Poland, were evaluated in this study. Methods: Corneal samples from cases resistant to antimicrobial therapy assessed for epidemiological, microbiological and parasitological aspects were investigated by phase-contrast microscope, slit lamp and by confocal microscopy. In vitro techniques were applied for detection of bacteria and fungi, and corneal isolates cultured under axenic condition using BSC medium—for detection of Acanthamoeba spp.; molecular techniques were applied for amoeba species identification. Results: Most etiologically complicated keratitis cases, detected in ~84% of incidents, was due to exposure of contact lenses to tap water or pool water; trophozoites and cysts of Acanthamoeba, concomitant bacteriae, e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, fungi and microfilariae were identified in contact lens users. Conclusions: In samples from contact lens wearers where microbial keratitis is identified along with some connection with the patient’s exposure to contaminated water environments, a risk of Acanthamoeba spp. infections should be considered. Understanding the complicated relationship between Acanthamoeba spp., co-occurring pathogens including associated endosymbionts is needed. In vivo confocal microscopy and in vitro cultivation were necessary to identify potentially contagious concomitant factors affecting the complex course of the keratitis. Full article
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16 pages, 3550 KiB  
Article
Extracellular Vesicles Secreted by Acanthamoeba culbertsoni Have COX and Proteolytic Activity and Induce Hemolysis
by Francisco Sierra-López, Ismael Castelan-Ramírez, Dolores Hernández-Martínez, Lizbeth Salazar-Villatoro, David Segura-Cobos, Catalina Flores-Maldonado, Verónica Ivonne Hernández-Ramírez, Tomás Ernesto Villamar-Duque, Adolfo René Méndez-Cruz, Patricia Talamás-Rohana and Maritza Omaña-Molina
Microorganisms 2023, 11(11), 2762; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11112762 - 14 Nov 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1882
Abstract
Several species of Acanthamoeba genus are potential pathogens and etiological agents of several diseases. The pathogenic mechanisms carried out by these amoebae in different target tissues have been documented, evidencing the relevant role of contact-dependent mechanisms. With the purpose of describing the pathogenic [...] Read more.
Several species of Acanthamoeba genus are potential pathogens and etiological agents of several diseases. The pathogenic mechanisms carried out by these amoebae in different target tissues have been documented, evidencing the relevant role of contact-dependent mechanisms. With the purpose of describing the pathogenic processes carried out by these protozoans more precisely, we considered it important to determine the emission of extracellular vesicles (EVs) as part of the contact-independent pathogenicity mechanisms of A. culbertsoni, a highly pathogenic strain. Through transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA), EVs were characterized. EVs showed lipid membrane and a size between 60 and 855 nm. The secretion of large vesicles was corroborated by confocal and TEM microscopy. The SDS-PAGE of EVs showed proteins of 45 to 200 kDa. Antigenic recognition was determined by Western Blot, and the internalization of EVs by trophozoites was observed through Dil-labeled EVs. In addition, some EVs biological characteristics were determined, such as proteolytic, hemolytic and COX activity. Furthermore, we highlighted the presence of leishmanolysin in trophozites and EVs. These results suggest that EVs are part of a contact-independent mechanism, which, together with contact-dependent ones, allow for a better understanding of the pathogenicity carried out by Acanthamoeba culbertsoni. Full article
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