Lejeune Manigandan, Rybicka Joanna M, Chadee Kris
University of Calgary, Department of Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, Calgary, AB, T2N 4N1, Canada.
Future Microbiol. 2009 Feb;4(1):105-18. doi: 10.2217/17460913.4.1.105.
Entamoeba histolytica is an enteric dwelling human protozoan parasite that causes the disease amoebiasis, which is endemic in the developing world. Over the past four decades, considerable effort has been made to understand the parasite and the disease. Improved diagnostics can now differentiate pathogenic E. histolytica from that of the related but nonpathogenic Entamoeba dispar, thus minimizing screening errors. Classically, the triad of Gal-lectin, cysteine proteinases and amoebapores of the parasite were thought to be the major proteins involved in the pathogenesis of amoebiasis. However, other amoebic molecules such as lipophosphopeptidoglycan, perioxiredoxin, arginase, and lysine and glutamic acid-rich proteins are also implicated. Recently, the genome of E. histolytica has been sequenced, which has widened our scope to study additional virulence factors. E. histolytica genome-based approaches have now confirmed the presence of Golgi apparatus-like vesicles and the machinery for glycosylation, thus improving the chances of identifying potential drug targets for chemotherapeutic intervention. Apart from Gal-lectin-based vaccines, promising vaccine targets such as serine-rich E. histolytica protein have yielded encouraging results. Considerable efforts have also been made to skew vaccination responses towards appropriate T-helper cell immunity that could augment the efficacy of vaccine candidates under study. Thus, ongoing efforts mining the information made available with the sequencing of the E. histolytica genome will no doubt identify and characterize other important potential vaccine/drug targets and lead to effective immunologic strategies for the control of amoebiasis.
溶组织内阿米巴是一种寄居于肠道的人体原生动物寄生虫，可引发阿米巴病，该病在发展中世界呈地方性流行。在过去的四十年里，人们为了解这种寄生虫和相关疾病付出了巨大努力。如今，改进后的诊断方法能够将致病性溶组织内阿米巴与相关但无致病性的迪斯帕内阿米巴区分开来，从而最大限度地减少筛查误差。传统上，人们认为该寄生虫的半乳糖凝集素、半胱氨酸蛋白酶和阿米巴穿孔素三联体是参与阿米巴病发病机制的主要蛋白质。然而，其他阿米巴分子，如脂磷肽聚糖、过氧化物氧化还原酶、精氨酸酶以及富含赖氨酸和谷氨酸的蛋白质也与之相关。最近，溶组织内阿米巴的基因组已被测序，这拓宽了我们研究其他毒力因子的范围。基于溶组织内阿米巴基因组的方法现已证实存在类似高尔基体的囊泡和糖基化机制，从而增加了识别用于化疗干预的潜在药物靶点的机会。除了基于半乳糖凝集素的疫苗外，诸如富含丝氨酸的溶组织内阿米巴蛋白等有前景的疫苗靶点已取得了令人鼓舞的结果。人们还付出了巨大努力，使疫苗接种反应偏向适当的辅助性T细胞免疫，这可以增强正在研究的候选疫苗的效力。因此，利用溶组织内阿米巴基因组测序所提供信息的持续努力无疑将识别和表征其他重要的潜在疫苗/药物靶点，并带来控制阿米巴病的有效免疫策略。
